The Runeterra Adventures and the Champions of Demacia
by AimlessZombie
Summary: Ezreal, the prodigal explorer, lived his life plundering the world while uncovering its deepest secrets in search of a profit. Little did he know, that one of these secrets would permanently entangle his affairs with those of both Demacia and Noxus in their continuous war for Runeterra. Ezreal must adjust his moral compass from caring only about himself to his newfound friends.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

A bright light suddenly cut through the unending darkness within the caverns of the Great Barrier Mountains. Undisturbed by most of the denizens of Runeterra, only the water dripping off the surrounding rock and the scuttling of the wildlife that called the mountain range home could be heard. Though appearing normal, something mysterious remained hidden within its walls simply waiting to be discovered. Treasures that only the most dedicated explorers would dare to pursue.

A light flicked erratically from side to side illuminating the damp, rocky walls as if searching for something. The light rested within the center of a hard hat which rested upon a head full of blonde hair and aviator goggles.

"It should be here somewhere," a voice said obviously belonging to a boy.

"Think, Ezreal, think," the boy said hitting his forehead with his palm. "You didn't come all the way in here to get lost."

"What am I saying?" Ezreal said as he seemed to be talking to himself. "The world's best explorer doesn't get lost."

Ezreal removed his backpack and pulled from it a small, folded piece of paper. As he began to unravel it he made sure to keep the light from his helmet focused downward.

"Let's see. The map says after finding the hidden entrance to travel through the narrow corridor, past the bubbling pool and then…." Ezreal read out loud as he scratched his forehead.

"Ah, it should be right here!"

As he threw his head back in aggravation, the light from his helmet shined up towards the rocky ceiling revealing an eroded statue that was carved into the inner wall. After opening his eyes and realizing what he had found, Ezreal continued to tilt his head watching as the light followed the statue until it rested upon a circular object which rested atop the statue's head.

Ezreal's face morphed to show a smirk and determination flooded back into his eyes as he whispered, "There you are."

Removing the rope that was tied to his side, Ezreal made a lasso and hooked it tightly across the top of the statue. He pushed his helmet down and tightened his gloves before gripping the rope and making his way up the statue's face. The climb was not easy as the rocky walls had been made slippery with dripping water and the statue's features had been worn away.

Slipping and clambering, Ezreal finally made his way to the top. He took a moment to catch his breath before staring at the small, circular object that rested in front of him. Using his sleeve, he wiped away years of caked on dust allowing the object to glimmer in the light from his helmet.

As he marveled at its beauty, he noticed writing that was carved underneath.

"Yeah I don't speak that language, sorry," Ezreal joked as he carefully removed the object from its spot.

He held it up within the light noticing that it was about three times as large as an average coin, but just as flat. He knew it was old and rare and would likely strike a good price from a buyer.

"Little trinket you now belong to Ezreal, world explorer extraordinaire," Ezreal said laughing to himself as he secured the object in his pocket.

Not five seconds after placing the object in his pocket, rocks around the statue began to move and slide away. Ezreal watched in curiosity as the walls around the statue began to change. Rocks fell and rose as if controlled by something or as if they were….alive.

Small blue lights appeared among the rocky walls all around the statue in pairs of two. Looking closer, Ezreal quickly realized they weren't just blue lights, rather they were eyes. Many creatures were now hanging along the walls and before Ezreal had time to decipher what these new things were a large arm-like appendage was thrust in his direction.

Ezreal quickly stepped to the side easily dodging the slow arm. However, within seconds more arms reached for him backing him against one of the stalactites that hung down from the ceiling.

Ezreal looked over to see his rope still hanging from where he had left it. It gave a clear path all the way back to the cave floor. Focusing on that spot Ezreal concentrated with all his might, shut his eyes and within moments _poof_ he disappeared and was now standing next to the bottom of his rope looking back up towards the statue's head.

"Bet you didn't account for that trick did you?" Ezreal said mockingly to the little monsters.

Happy with his easy escape, Ezreal turned to leave but was instead greeted by a fleet of blue eyes. It was so many this time that the cave itself appeared to be lighter. Ezreal shined his light in that direction only to learn what these creatures were.

"Krugs," he hissed. "That language on the statue was warning me against these stupid little creatures and apparently I woke them up."

Ezreal began to back away slowly making sure to keep an eye on the wall of glowing blue eyes that lay before him. He only managed to get a few steps away before the wall of lights came crashing towards him like an avalanche.

Ezreal turned and ran as fast as he ever had before with only the light from his helmet to guide his way. He weaved in and out between the cavern walls occasionally slipping from the water that had accumulated, but never looking back to the krugs who were right on his heels.

I've got this, he thought to himself. They won't catch up to me. I'm too fast.

Just as those thoughts began to leave his mind he noticed more krugs appear from the cavern walls. They were flooding down to the cavern floor where Ezreal was running many nearly missing him as they crashed to the ground.

Just as he was beginning to panic, Ezreal saw the light to the opening of the mountain. He ran even harder, but knew that even if he escaped the cave the krugs would continue to follow him. As he neared the opening, he noticed the weak rock formation hanging above. A smirk came across his face once again as a plan formed in his head.

He was close enough now that he could see the grass outside the cave. Focusing on a certain spot outside, Ezreal raised his arm and after a few seconds a bolt of energy shot towards the hanging formation. The shot hit its mark and immediately unhinged a wall of rocks that began to cover the entrance before him.

Looking out of the ever shrinking entrance Ezreal focused hard, closed his eyes and right before he collided with the falling rocks _poof_ he vanished only to reappear on the other side. Ezreal patted himself all over to make sure he was in one piece before turning to watch large boulders conceal the cave's entrance.

He smiled as he heard the krugs plow into the entrance unable to reach their target.

"Piece of cake," Ezreal said with shaky confidence.

After taking another second to listen to the krugs, Ezreal reached into his pocket to admire the token of his hard work. He noticed that the object was bright gold as it shined like a diamond in the afternoon sun. He wasn't exactly sure what it was, but he knew he could find someone to pay him a handsome price for it.

Pleased with himself, he shoved the object back in his pocket, gave it a pat and then proceeded down the mountain. Surely there was someone in Demacia that could appraise this thing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

As he neared the bottom of the mountain range, Ezreal heard some commotion off in the distance. At first he didn't know where it was coming from or even what it was, but as he got farther down the mountain he was able to pinpoint the noise. It was coming from behind a large ridge and it sounded like two armies fighting each other.

Curiosity was too much for Ezreal and he decided to find out the exact cause of the strange noise. He stayed low and crept up the ridge making sure not to cause any unneeded noise. He didn't want to alert anyone to his presence. If it was something dangerous he wanted to be able to leave as easily as he came.

Arriving atop the ridge, Ezreal hid within some bushes. He quickly realized he was correct in hearing the sound of armies fighting. He watched in amazement as a Demacian patrol tried to fight off a rather large platoon of Noxus soldiers. It was clear that the Demacian patrol was easily outnumbered and was slowly losing this fight. Ezreal thought it was odd that such a large Noxus army was this deep into Demacian grounds. The thought didn't last long as the fighting suddenly stopped. The Noxus soldiers had completely surrounded the remnants of the Demacian patrol and had forced the survivors into a small circle within the middle of the Noxus forces.

Within a few seconds, a rather grim looking man stepped forward out of the Noxus ranks and towards the Demacian circle. Ezreal ascertained that this was the Noxus general that ran this specific company. He began to speak to the Demacian's with purpose mocking them for their quick defeat.

"Well, well, well look at what we have here," the Noxus general said as he paced back and forth between the two armies. He had sheathed his sword and his dark armor gleamed in the sun.

"So much for fighting to your last breath," he continued mockingly.

"We are merely in a better formation," one of the Demacian soldiers replied. Each solider within the Demacian circle was still at the ready with their shields in front and swords poking out between.

"Bring your men, we will cut them down," the Demacian soldier continued with hatred in his voice.

The Noxus general gave off a hard laugh and continued to prod the Demacian forces stating that they were clearly outnumbered and were in no place to offer threats.

The Noxus general continued to berate the Demacian's and it was obvious to Ezreal that he was playing with them as a cat did with a trapped mouse.

As he was watching the spectacle, Ezreal caught something out of the corner of his eye. Looking over there was some sort of shadow behind the Noxus forces which was almost completely out of sight. Ezreal slowly adjusted his position so that he could examine what exactly he was looking at, but also being mindful not to be seen.

As he got a better look, Ezreal noticed that the shadow was actually a man who was watching the events just as he was. However, this man was not trying to be hidden rather he was just standing in the back.

This man was different than the rest. He was slightly older evidenced by the wrinkles upon his face and on his bald head. Only his furrowed brow and gleaming eyes could be seen as it appeared bandages were wrapped across the lower part of his face completely covering his mouth. He was slender and Ezreal could tell the bandages continued down his torso as far as he could see. The strangest part of this man, however, was the rather large tank that was attached to his back. Because of the man's age, Ezreal merely thought this was an oxygen tank; however something about this didn't seem right. He was stoic while standing clearly in the back of the Noxus soldiers and Ezreal couldn't help but think that this was the guy who was actually in charge.

Suddenly chills shot down Ezreal's spine as the man looked in his direction. Ezreal immediately ducked his head down behind the tall brush.

Did he see me? Ezreal thought to himself in a panic.

What do I do? Alright I am just going to give one peek, one quick peek. Maybe he was just looking over my head at something on the mountain.

Ezreal slowly lifted his head back out of the brush in order to get a better look. He froze as he was met by the same chilling gaze from the man. He had never quit looking in this direction and was merely waiting for Ezreal to show himself again. This time Ezreal couldn't look away as the man had clearly seen him. They locked eyes for what seemed like hours before the man simply returned his attention back to his general who was still taunting the Demacians.

Ezreal's heart was beating so fast he thought it was going to pop out of his chest. This guy had clearly seen him, but instead of alerting someone he was merely ignored. Flabbergasted by this, the only sense Ezreal could comprehend was that this man did not feel threatened in the slightest by his presence.

Just as Ezreal decided that he had seen enough and had decided to leave, Ezreal heard the Noxus general yell, "Show them what happens when you mess with Noxus!"

The Noxus soldiers began to cheer and jeer hoisting their weapons above their heads as the general made his way back to the crowd. The Demacians had pulled their ranks in even closer making a solid circle of shields and swords readying themselves for the impending attack.

The Noxus soldiers did not charge, but instead began to part as if letting something through their ranks. Ezreal looked back towards where the older man had been standing, but he was gone. Frantically, Ezreal searched the crowd for the man and quickly saw that he was the one making his way through his soldiers.

The man came to a rest at the same spot the Noxus general had been standing, but did not say a single word. He only stared with the same chilling gaze that Ezreal had seen only moments before. After what seemed like an eternity, the man finally began to pull on the straps that held the giant tank securely on his back. All without breaking his stare, he removed the tank and sat it firmly on the ground. The Noxus soldiers grew wilder and Ezreal could see that the tank was definitely not filled with oxygen. Rather it was filled with some green chemical that bubbled within the tank.

Ezreal watched as the man filled two large, glass containers with the green liquid and held them up as if examining them. Without warning, the man threw both containers at the Demacian soldiers which shattered immediately on impact covering the soldiers from head to toe. The Demacian's immediately dropped their weapons and clutched their bodies as they screamed and writhed in pain.

Ezreal's eyes grew wide with horror as the green liquid fumed around the soldiers tearing them apart and melting parts of their skin away from the bone. The screams could easily be heard for miles, but Ezreal couldn't tear his gaze away.

Without any remorse, the man strapped his tank back on his back and turned to walk towards the cheering Noxus soldiers. As he walked, the man suddenly turned to look directly at Ezreal once again. Ezreal stared back, but this time it was different. The man stared at Ezreal only diverting his gaze once he was lost back within the crowd. Ezreal got the strange feeling that the man wanted him there. It was as if the man needed a witness to his atrocities and Ezreal was just the man for the job.

The Noxus soldiers quickly followed their leader and disappeared out of sight. Figuring that he was safe, Ezreal stood up to get a better look at what had become of the unfortunate Demacians. To his surprise, the soldiers had quit screaming, but instead remained standing and hunched over with their armor still hanging on their severely damaged bodies. Some of the soldiers aimlessly shuffled around while others remained motionless. Their weapons littered the ground around them as they didn't seem to be important any longer.

Just before Ezreal was about to make his way down the ridge, he heard horses in the distance which were gaining fast on his location. Ezreal retreated back to his hiding place just before eight men arrived on horseback stopping as they reached the injured Demacian scout group.

Without hesitation, a large warrior in full armor jumped down from his horse and began to approach the scout group who still hadn't reacted to this new arrival. It was apparent to Ezreal that these men belonged to Demacia as well and had heard the screams. The man, who was obviously in charge of these nights on the horses, was rather large and had an impressive sword draped across his back. Ezreal felt as though he knew this man, but couldn't exactly place his finger on it.

"General, report!" the knight said as he approached the scout group without fear. The sting of the green chemical still hung in the air.

No one from the scout group replied or even reacted to the knight's presence, so the knight said again, "General what happened here? Report!"

The knight was standing directly in front of one of the Demacian scouts who merely stood hunched over at the waist. The knight stood trying to discern the situation while placing his hand on the hunched solider. As Ezreal watched this interaction, he quickly realized who this knight was.

That's Garen! Ezreal thought to himself. The Might of Demacia.

Ezreal had heard stories all his life about Garen and his prowess on the battlefield. He was the best warrior Demacia ever had. Judging by the size of the sword on his back Ezreal could easily see why he had this title.

Ezreal's attention snapped back and he watched as Garen suddenly turned away from the solider and towards his knights. Immediately, the Demacian scout gave out a violent lurch and stood straight up. It wasn't until now that Ezreal could see exactly what the green liquid had done to these soldiers. Most of the soldier's skin had either been burned off or was extremely disfigured, but he moved as if he didn't feel it at all. His armor was still gripping to the remaining skin and bone, but hung as if oversized. It was as if the soldier's body was present, but the soldier had long died and a violent shell had been left in his place.

Something in Ezreal told him that the solider was about to attack Garen, so he darted from his hiding place.

Simultaneously sliding down the ridge and readying his arm, Ezreal yelled, "Garen look out!"

Taken aback by the yell, Garen quickly turned towards the now fast moving Ezreal, but didn't notice the soldier until it was too late. The soldier had launched itself at Garen, gnashing its teeth and flinging its arms. It had fixed its grip around one of Garen's large arms and was poised to take a bite.

Right before the soldier's mouth contacted Garen's skin, a bolt of energy caught it in the side sending it careening back to the ground.

Garen stared stunned at the now lifeless soldier who had easily been cut in half by Ezreal's bolt. As he looked back towards Ezreal, Garen yelled, "You just attacked a Demacian soldier! Arrest him!"

Before Garen's knights could reach Ezreal, the remaining burned scouts attacked, swarming everyone within seconds. Garen and his knights reacted swiftly cutting down their former comrades with ease. The green liquid had obviously weakened their bodies as no resistance was given to the attacks from Garen and his knights. Ezreal merely watched the spectacle finding it hard to believe what was conspiring in front of him.

Once the scouts had been defeated, Ezreal watched as Garen merely stood in the middle of the carnage. Ezreal could tell that Garen was in deep pain after having to cut down his own warriors. Garen stood silently for a few moments before reaching down towards the ground. As Garen rubbed the soil between his fingers, Ezreal could tell Garen knew something had been used to corrupt his soldiers.

"You!" Garen boomed pointing at Ezreal.

Ezreal froze before Garen spoke again, "You obviously know what happened here. You are coming with us. Seize him!"

Garen's knights once again closed in on Ezreal who was backing against the ridge. Ezreal looked to his side and saw the open field where the Noxus soldiers had disappeared to.

"Sorry, not today boys," Ezreal quipped as he quickly disappeared from in front of the Demacian knights.

Garen watched as Ezreal reappeared in the field far enough from the reach of his knights. Ezreal laughed as he ran looking back over his shoulder at the stunned knights. He was in the clear. Nothing stood between him and freedom.

All of the sudden Ezreal couldn't move at all. It was as if someone had frozen him to the very ground under his feet. He panicked. Even if he had enough energy to teleport again he didn't think it would actually get him out of whatever had him ensnared.

Suddenly, a tall man appeared next to Ezreal holding out a staff with a bright purple crystal on its top and had it pointed in his direction. He was an older man with a slightly wrinkled face and long white hair. He wore a long red robe that was adorned with intricate armor. A hat rested on his head to indicate he was a powerful magi of Demacia. Ezreal figured out quickly that this was his captor.

In no time Garen and his knights had caught up to Ezreal's location unfazed by this new person.

"Karthas, whatever did we do to earn the honor of your presence?" Garen said to the mage rather snidely.

"Doing your job I suppose, Garen," Karthas retorted. "I seemed to have captured your criminal for you."

"I'm no criminal!" Ezreal quickly yelled.

"He is our….witness," Garen responded. "We need to take him back to Demacia for questioning. He was the only one who saw what happened to our scouting group."

Karthas looked over Garen's shoulder at what was once the scouting group which now laid in pieces strewn across the field. Ezreal noticed how it didn't seem to faze Karthas one bit. No hint of sadness was in his voice.

"I see," Karthas replied. "It appears nothing more than your scout group met with a stronger force than they. These things happen, Garen."

Obviously offended by Karthas' patronizing tone, Garen said, "Something out of the ordinary occurred here and we are taking this boy back to Demacia."

Ezreal thought about spilling everything that he had witnessed, but something told him that was unwise at this point. Though he wasn't too sure about Garen yet, his gut told him not to trust Karthas. Something about him wasn't right and though he wasn't positive Garen wouldn't harm him, Ezreal was almost sure that Karthas would without hesitation.

Karthas narrowed his gaze and stared at Garen before releasing Ezreal from his imprisonment. Karthas pushed Ezreal towards Garen with a sneer.

"Why are you even here, Karthas?" Garen asked as if hit with a realization.

"Official business. You wouldn't understand," Karthas replied. "You have your _witness_ now back to Demacia."

With obvious anger Garen steered Ezreal back towards his knights. Before he climbed back onto his horse, Garen pulled out a pair of handcuffs and placed them around Ezreal's wrists.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa I thought I was only a witness. What's with the cuff's _Sheriff_?" Ezreal quickly and sarcastically said.

"You are," Garen replied. "But I can't risk losing you to your disappearing act again."

"These cuffs will see to that," Garen said as he hoisted Ezreal onto the back of his horse and clamped a chain that traveled from the cuffs down to the horse's saddle.

Garen turned back to Karthas, but he was gone. He had disappeared like the wind with no one being the wiser.

"Creepy old man," Garen said under his breath before climbing back on his horse.

"To Demacia, men! With haste!" Garen commanded towards his knights who, within an instant, took off towards the valiant city.

After a few minutes of riding, Ezreal said, "A thank you would be nice at least."

"Thank you? For what?" Garen responded.

"For saving you," Ezreal said matter-of-factly. "I totally cut down that burned soldier before it turned your arm into a snack."

"My armor would have protected me," Garen quickly retorted.

"Guess we will never know. Glad you are so confident in it," Ezreal replied.

"I am," Garen retorted.

Ezreal rolled his eyes and watched as the trees passed by and allowed the wind to brush his face. He had almost tuned out the world around him before he heard Garen speak again.

"Thank you," Garen said softly without another word. Ezreal merely smiled and decided to enjoy the trip the best he could.

It didn't stop him from trying to wrap his head around everything. What was supposed to be an easy exploration mission has now turned into him being in cuffs. And who was the creepy bandaged guy with the strange liquid? Maybe Garen would know more about it, because all he knew now was that he was at least on the fast track to Demacia and getting his new treasure appraised. There's always a silver lining to everything.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

As he entered the library, Ezreal was quickly aware of its size. He had always heard that the Library of Demacia was the largest in Runeterra, but the rumors did not do it justice. Though he knew there was a ceiling, he couldn't see one. Rows upon rows of books extended in every direction imaginable and Ezreal only wished he had a few more set of eyes.

Ezreal began to meander through the center of the library as he admired the craftsmanship put into its design. Stone statues that resembled gargoyles adorned the walls, beautiful mixed granite stretched across the floor, and large pillars separated the massive wooden bookshelves that sat in uncountable rows. He could feel the magic and the mystery that engulfed this place. The stacks and rows of knowledge around him was staggering.

Other Demacian citizens were scattered throughout the library, all on an individual quest to answer their deepest questions. Ezreal approached one man who was sitting at a large wooden table with stacks of books pilled around him.

"Excuse me sir," Ezreal said hesitantly, "Do you know how I find the appraiser here?"

The man didn't say a word. In fact, he was ignoring Ezreal as if he wasn't even there and hadn't just spoken. Thinking it was possible that the man didn't hear him, Ezreal asked his question again. This time he was met with an angry gaze and a scowl from above the old man's glasses.

"Do I look like a librarian? I'm very busy. Go find someone else," the man said angrily making a shooing motion with one of his hands before looking back down to his book.

Ezreal, deciding to leave the old man alone, looked around for anyone else to help him.

After feeling rather helpless, a soothing voice came from behind him, "Just follow that aisle and it will take you straight to the back."

Ezreal turned to discover the owner of such a lovely voice. Behind him was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen pointing in the direction of a line of bookshelves over to his left. Ezreal couldn't help but stare at this girl who was sporting long blonde hair, big blue eyes, and a sparkling smile. She was wearing Demacian armor and had a large book under her arm.

After Ezreal realized he was staring for far too long he composed himself and said, "Um, thank you."

"Anytime," the girl said with a smile before turning to walk out of the library. Ezreal stood and watched her until she was out of sight.

I've got to figure out who that was, Ezreal thought to himself, she was beautiful. She's obviously a part of the army.

Ezreal continued to think about this new girl as he walked towards the back of the library. Once he could go no further, he was met by a set of massive, wooden double doors which were carved to form the shape of the Demacian crest. Figuring he was in the right place, Ezreal gave them a shove in order to find the appraiser.

As Ezreal exited the double doors, he found himself standing at the front of a large greenhouse. The greenhouse was in the shape of a dome and was completely constructed out of thick glass and metal poles. It was as if he had stepped into an entirely different world. A meticulous stone walkway that cut through the center of the greenhouse was all that could be seen between the dense forests of vegetation that now surrounded him. Everything from palm trees to tomato vines covered the surface of the greenhouse and stretched to the near top of the dome where bright sunlight was allowed to shine to the floor.

Ezreal could feel his jaw drop as he walked down the stone path spinning his head from side to side as fast as he could so as to not miss a single thing. His only regret at that moment in time was that he did not have three more sets of eyes to take everything in. Colorful wild birds could be heard singing in the distance and flying overhead. As Ezreal got further into the dome, he noticed a system of waterways that curved throughout in every direction. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a plethora of different sized fish bolting up and down the streams with ease. A system of nicely hidden pipes was installed; some that were pouring water into the streams while others were taking it out. Looking up, Ezreal noticed sprinkler systems that dotted the ceiling all across the glassed dome. It was obvious to him that this greenhouse was completely self-sufficient and was its own ecosystem.

Once again Ezreal had allowed himself to follow his sense of exploration and it wasn't too long before he was lost. He came upon a large stone-like statute that rested atop a pedestal which appeared to be a centerpiece where all the pathways met. Looking above his head, he confirmed this thought as he was standing in the dead center of the dome. As Ezreal inspected the statue, he noticed it formed a gigantic gargoyle that was standing with a regal pose and appeared to be wearing….a tux? It was a tux!

Why in the world would someone have a tux on a statue in the first place? Ezreal thought to himself.

Feeling curious, Ezreal climbed the statue until he was at head level. After giving it a closer look, Ezreal noticed that at some point someone had seemingly painted a thin mustache and goatee on the statue as well. This only led Ezreal to be more confused. What kind of statue was this and why had someone dressed it up as if it was going to a fancy dinner?

Ezreal caught himself staring off into space as he pondered this place and this strange statue. He was deep in thought when he thought he felt the statue move.

No, that's not right, Ezreal thought to himself, statues don't move. I must be imagining things. Too long hanging around up here.

Just as Ezreal began to make his way down, he stopped. Still hanging face-to-face with the statue, he thought he saw it blink.

"No, no, no I am losing my mind," Ezreal said under his breath as he shook his head.

Before Ezreal could continue his decent, the statue threw back its head with a violent jerk. Surprised by the sudden movement, Ezreal lost his grip and fell backwards towards the ground.

In a full body stretch the statue stood tall and exclaimed in a deep voice, "Ahh, feels good to stretch my wings!"

Ezreal yelled as he careened towards the ground and closed his eyes preparing to collide with the stone walkway. He tensed, but no pain or hard landing. Ezreal unclenched his eyes and noticed he had stopped in mid-air. The giant statue, which was now a very alive stone gargoyle, had him by the back of his shirt and was staring at him.

Ezreal tried to find some words, but none came. All he could do was stare.

"I take it you've never seen a live gargoyle before?" the statue asked.

Ezreal, still awestruck and hanging above the ground, managed to simply nod his head.

The gargoyle let out a deep laugh, stepped off the pedestal, and placed Ezreal securely back on his feet.

"So, what can I do for you?" the gargoyle asked.

Finally out of his stupor, Ezreal replied, "I…I was told I could find a master appraiser here."

The gargoyle stood straight up, adjusted his bowtie and said proudly, "Well you are looking at him. My name is Galio and I am an expert on stones, gems, and artifacts. Let's see what you have."

Ezreal smiled. Even if his exploring got him lost, at least it brought him to the man, um…statue that he was supposed to see. Though he didn't know Galio very well, something about him gave off a trusting feeling.

Ezreal reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out the circular object he had found in the Great Barrier Mountains. After giving it a quick look he placed it into the outstretched, stone palm that Galio was extending.

Galio flipped it over between his fingers multiple times, narrowing his eyes to get a better look. Ezreal watched as he flicked, pulled, rubbed, and twirled the object trying best to figure out what it was. Lastly, Galio held it up to the sky allowing the sunlight of the greenhouse to gleam off its face.

As Galio was examining the object in the sunlight, seemingly staring off into the sky, Ezreal decided to break the silence.

"So, what do you think its worth?"

Galio remained silent as he continued to inspect the artifact.

"I'm hoping to get a pretty good payday off that little object. It wasn't easy to obtain let me tell you; krugs are vicious little creatures. But it will be worth it because I am planning on heading over to Doran's Pawn Shop here in town and…"

"You don't want to be selling this," Galio finally said as he had now lowered the object and was examining it with a tiny loupe.

"Why, because I can get way more somewhere else?" Ezreal asked with excitement.

"No, because you can use it," Galio replied still not looking up at Ezreal.

"Use it?" Ezreal said with a slight hint of disgust, "What would I use it for?"

Without warning, Galio gripped the gauntlet on Ezreal's wrist and held the object close as if measuring it for size.

"Whoa, whoa what are you doing?" Ezreal exclaimed as he tried to pull himself free.

Ignoring the question, Galio was now inspecting Ezreal's gauntlet, flipping it over in his stony hands and seeming to forget that it was attached to an actual arm.

Galio turned the gauntlet right side up and tapped a small piece on the top. A small compartment opened and Ezreal's eyes grew wide.

Ezreal's struggling stopped and his amazement had returned.

"How…how did you know it would do that?" Ezreal asked.

"In order to be a master, one must be full of knowledge," Galio replied as he positioned the object over the gauntlet.

With delicacy and precision, Galio lowered the object into the new opening of the gauntlet. Once it found a resting place, Galio tapped the top again and the compartment slid shut. Galio released Ezreal's hand and stood back.

Within seconds, the gauntlet gave off a blinding light from where the object had been placed; so much so that both Ezreal and Galio had to shield their eyes. The gauntlet shook and the light transitioned between blinding and dim. Once it had stabilized and the light retracted, Ezreal examined his hand. He wiggled his fingers and flexed his palm proving to himself that he still had control.

However, something was different now – he felt….stronger.

"What was that and what did you do?" Ezreal said turning to Galio.

"That object that you found was one of a kind," Galio replied. "They are called amulets and very few were made. They were designed to enhance the power of ones that can use them. I have only seen one other in my lifetime."

"I see, but how did you know it would fit in my gauntlet?" Ezreal asked.

"Because the ones that crafted the amulets also made that gauntlet," Galio answered. "Which puzzles me as to how you acquired it?"

"It was given to me by my father before he passed away," Ezreal replied pulling his gauntleted arm to his chest.

"I see," Galio said stroking his face.

"You have natural abilities, I can tell, but the gauntlet allows you to focus your magic into more honed attacks," Galio continued. "Am I correct?"

Feeling a little creeped out by the fact that a giant statue knew more about his gauntlet that he owned most of his life than he did, Ezreal managed to let out, "Yeah."

"Well, that amulet that I just inserted will amplify your power even further," Galio said with a beaming smile.

Ezreal looked down at his gauntlet as if it had suddenly morphed into an unknown and new object. Deep down he knew Galio was telling the truth because he did indeed feel different.

"Well go on, try it out," Galio said as he pushed his arms in a shooing motion.

"Right," Ezreal said as he held his arm out in front of him. He stood for what seemed like forever as nothing happened.

"You have to concentrate. Search deep within yourself," Galio said as he patted his own chest.

Ezreal took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He didn't know exactly what he was supposed to be focusing on, but he put all his concentration on his outstretched arm.

Suddenly, Ezreal felt a surge of energy through his body as if it had started at his feet and was traveling towards his arm. At the last second, he opened his eyes and watched as two mystical bow-like limbs appeared on each side of his gauntlet and a thin transparent string stretched between them. Hesitantly, he pulled the string and released the largest crescent shaped energy blast that he had ever seen.

It nearly knocked Ezreal off his feet and he watched as it shot towards the top of the greenhouse. As it traveled, it shaved off any tree that got in its way before cutting through the glass at the top of the dome and disappearing into the distance.

Ezreal's jaw dropped and his eyes grew wide not daring to look over at Galio. All he could do was stare at the clear path of destruction that was left behind. Though embarrassed because of the destruction, he also felt a twinge of excitement at what he could do.

Before he turned, Ezreal heard the deepest belly laugh followed by Galio's voice, "And that's what I'm talking about! Good shot boy!"

"You're not mad?" Ezreal said shocked at how calm Galio was, knowing that there was a giant hole in his greenhouse now glaring down at them.

"Not at all, boy!" Galio said again. "Trees will grow back and roofs can be mended."

"I knew you had it in you," Galio said as he gave Ezreal and excited pat on the back. Ezreal flew forward as the stone hand connected with his back.

"Thank you so much," Ezreal said gripping his arm and looking back towards his new stoic friend.

"Anytime my friend, anytime. I believe you are better equipped for your future missions," Galio replied.

Ezreal nodded and gave Galio an admiring smile.

"I guess you will be off then. If you come across anymore artifacts you know where to find me," Galio said as he returned to his pedestal.

"Wait, Galio I have a couple of questions for you first," Ezreal said.

"Okay, ask away," Galio replied.

"Why are you out here in this greenhouse and also why are you in a tux?"

"Plants are more peaceful than people," Galio answered. "People merely pass by doing the same thing day after day and it's…monotonous. Besides I like the sunlight on my wings."

"As far as the tux goes, in order to be a master it is true that you must have knowledge, but it also doesn't hurt to look the part," said Galio as he gave out another big laugh before positioning himself back into place upon his pedestal.

Ezreal returned the laugh and said, "Goodbye Galio and thank you!"

"Back to sleep," Galio said before turning back into solid stone, striking the same regal pose that Ezreal had found him in earlier.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

With his new found power in tow, Ezreal exited the library feeling stronger than he ever had before. For once he felt like just maybe he could actually be more than just a common explorer. If helping Garen, Jarvan, and the other Demacians meant that he could possibly impress that girl that gave him directions then that alone was enough for him.

Ezreal barely made it to the bottom of the library steps before two Demacian soldiers atop horses came riding up to him.

"Is your name Ezreal?" one of the soldiers said.

"Yeah, that's me," Ezreal replied.

"We have orders directly from Garen to take you to the edge of Demacian territory," the soldier said. "The least we can do is make your journey as short as possible."

"Well let's get going then," Ezreal said as he climbed onto the horse behind the solider.

The solider commanded his horse forward and before long Ezreal watched Demacia fade into the distance. Ezreal enjoyed his ride as they galloped through what seemed to be unending fields of grass and trees. It was a nice day and the breeze felt great against his skin. Ezreal was very happy that these soldiers were going to be able to escort him part of the way. Though this part of the journey was easy, he knew that what lie ahead was going to be the complete opposite.

Before long, Ezreal noticed that the fields of green and the tall trees started to be few and far between. The land was turning rather brown and the trees looked dead. A strange mist that sat right above the ground began to grow heavier with every passing minute. Ezreal had never been to this part of Runeterra and he knew right away that he didn't like what he saw. After a few more minutes, the soldier's horse slowed down and eventually came to a halt.

"Where are we?" Ezreal asked once the horse was completely still.

"This is where we leave you," the soldier replied. "We are at the edge of the Howling Marsh."

"Howling Marsh? That doesn't sound too safe," Ezreal replied with annoyance in his voice.

"This is the safest place that we can leave you," the soldier replied. "Though it is not at the very edge of Demacian land, this marsh will provide the most cover until you can get closer to Noxus."

Ezreal looked around at the marsh. It lived up to its name as only spots of land could be seen in between the shallow waters. Large droopy trees dotted the landscape along with tall grass that looked to be long dead. The worst, however, was the now blinding mist that seemed to hover over the entire area.

"This will be the safest spot to part ways," the soldier said again trying to ease Ezreal's worries.

"No large groups of soldiers ever come through here, so the likelihood of running into any Noxians is very low."

"That's a shocker," Ezreal said sarcastically under his breath as he began to dismount the horse.

"Remember, your mission is to infiltrate Noxus and gather intelligence on their new weapon," the solider said.

"Yeah I got it," Ezreal replied.

"Above all else do not sacrifice your safety. Figure out what you can and then report back," the solider said before giving Ezreal a nod and directing his horse back towards Demacia.

Ezreal turned and stared at the expansive marsh that was in front of him. How was he ever going to make it through this place? He was more worried about the inhabitants of the marsh than he was running into any Noxus soldiers. Ezreal felt as though the marsh had worse things to offer than krugs. At least the Noxian's wouldn't try to eat him on the spot.

"Better get going," Ezreal said taking a deep breath and trying to instill some confidence within himself.

Ezreal trudged through the muddy marsh for what seemed like hours. If the dense fog wasn't bad enough on its own, he was having a difficult time telling north from south. Every tree that he passed looked the same and every few feet he found himself knee deep in either mud, weeds or water and sometimes all three at once. He continuously wondered why the soldiers were told to drop him off here. Even though it may have been a safer route, it will undoubtedly extend his journey to Noxus.

After Ezreal had walked himself to near exhaustion, he spotted a fallen tree up ahead which had left behind a rather large stump. It looked like the perfect place for a rest. Ezreal plopped down on the tree stump and leaned back to glance at his surroundings. After he stopped looking at the marsh as just another hurdle to jump, he began to take in its unique beauty. Though murky and rather foggy, the marsh was an impressive ecosystem that worked in unison to support some of the most unique plants and wildlife that he had ever seen. Ezreal didn't find himself in marshes very often and it was a nice change of scenery.

The trees were thick and tall, the water had its own unique mixtures of brown and green, and the mushrooms were….abnormally large and spotted. Sitting next to Ezreal was a large green mushroom with purple spots. Its bright colors made it stand out among the rest of the surrounding vegetation. Peeking his curiosity, Ezreal knelt down beside the mushroom to get a better look as it seemed completely out of place. Ezreal couldn't exactly put his finger on why, but everything about it seemed unnatural, almost like it was manmade.

Ezreal knelt closer and was peering around each side. He lifted his finger to give it a poke and….

"Ahhhhh!" Ezreal let out a painful scream and clutched his face with both hands as purple liquid shot from the mushroom and hit him directly in the face. The liquid stung and it felt as if he was being blinded.

Ezreal toppled backwards still clutching his eyes while trying to rid himself of the liquid. He crawled and withered back to the nearest murky pool of water. Without hesitation, he plunged his face deep into the pool while scrubbing violently at his face. Relief came swiftly as he felt the liquid wash from his face and into the water.

Ezreal returned to his feet still scrubbing at his face to make sure all of the liquid had been wiped away. As he was clearing away the last remnants of the liquid, he heard a faint laughing in the distance. Immediately, Ezreal perked up twisting his head from side to side trying to find the source.

Again the laughing rang through the marsh. Ezreal was dumbfounded as the laugh sounded like multiple children all laughing in unison. He was surveying the marsh even quicker now as the laugh was coming more frequently. Whatever was making the noise was close and it was gaining on him.

Ezreal began to back away keeping his eyes on high alert. Once more the laugh filled his ears. He turned to run, but before he could take a step, he felt a sharp pain in the side of his neck. It felt like a bee sting and as Ezreal reached towards his neck he pulled from it a small dart with tiny purple feathers attached.

"What is th…," Ezreal managed to stammer before he was brought to his knees. Something was wrong with him. Whatever was in that dart was making him so drowsy that he couldn't stay awake. He couldn't stand as his legs failed him and his head felt as though it had tripled in weight. The last thing he heard as he was passing out was the sound of the childish laugh echoing over the marsh.

As Ezreal regained his consciousness, he could feel the soft, soggy ground beneath his head. He quickly realized he was lying on his back in the middle of the marsh. The drowsy feeling from earlier had faded as he was starting to feel like himself again. Slowly, he opened his eyes but what he saw wasn't what he was expecting. As the world around him came into focus, Ezreal noticed two beady eyes hovering directly over his face. The eyes had brown circles around them and short fur made up the rest with a green hat resting above that which was temporarily blocking out any sunlight that managed to make it through the fog.

Ezreal gave one hard blink and let out a loud scream, shuffling backwards in an attempt to get away from his attacker.

"What…who are you?" Ezreal yelled as he was now propped up on his hands still sitting on the soggy ground.

Ezreal surveyed the creature that was standing in front of him. He was short, only a few feet off the ground, and small, but something about him screamed that he was not to be taken lightly. After a few seconds the creature stood up straight and made a saluting motion with one of his hands.

"Captain Teemo reporting for duty," the creature said quite pleased with himself.

Ezreal stared at him for a moment before getting to his feet and wiping the mud off his clothes the best he could. He never took his eyes off the creature who was still just standing straight seemingly waiting for Ezreal's next move. Right before Ezreal was about to finish cleaning himself off he heard it…the laugh.

Teemo let out the laugh that Ezreal had heard right before he passed out. Suddenly, the memories of the poison mushroom and the dart came flooding back into his mind. Ezreal went on the defensive immediately raising his arm towards his attacker.

"You're the one that shot the dart at me!" Ezreal yelled. "And I have a good suspicion that you are responsible for the mushroom as well."

"Indeed I am," Teemo replied gleefully.

Ezreal's face turned to even more of a scowl. How could this little creature be so proud of attacking an innocent person? Ezreal was so mad that he wanted to launch a bolt into the middle of its furry little face right then and there.

"It was all part of my training," Teemo said again.

"Training?" Ezreal asked his face morphing from anger to confusion as he slightly lowered his arm. "What kind of training are you doing out here?"

"I am a part of an elite special forces unit out of Bandle City. More specifically I am a scout and scouts have to be practically invisible at all times," Teemo said striking a surprisingly serious tone.

"My commanders sent me out here to train in this harsh environment. You just happened to wander into one of my traps."

"Traps?" Ezreal replied confused.

"Yes, the mushrooms!" Teemo responded excitedly. "They look like everyday mushrooms, but in reality they house deadly poison waiting to explode that can blind my enemies."

"Trust me I know," Ezreal said under his breath, but not high enough to interrupt Teemo.

"After I saw that you had tripped one of my mushrooms I knew you were in trouble," Teemo continued. "That is why I shot my dart into your neck. I wanted to clean the toxin before it did any permanent damage. Though you did a decent job cleaning it on your own. I must say it was impressive."

"Um, thanks," Ezreal replied still trying to figure out this strange creature that he found himself talking to.

"Don't you worry though, the traps weren't intended for you," Teemo said trying to reassure an obviously now unconcerned Ezreal. "I was merely trying to practice on some of the wildlife found throughout this marsh. They can be a handful, but wonderful training targets."

"Whatever you say," Ezreal said dismissively. He had lowered his arm completely now and was more focused on trying to figure out exactly where he was.

"So…what exactly _are_ you?" Ezreal asked.

Teemo straightened up once again and puffed out his chest, "I am a yordle of Bandle City!"

"A yordle huh?" Ezreal replied. He had met a few yordles in his travels before, but none like Teemo. Obviously yordles came in all different shapes and fashions. One thing was for certain though, they were all very short.

"Well it was nice to meet you, Teemo, but I need to get going. I've got a mission to finish for Demacia," Ezreal said waving his hand as he began to walk past Teemo and back into the marsh.

"A mission!" Teemo said practically squealing with excitement. "I love missions. Let me come with you, please!"

"Thanks for the offer, but no. I prefer to do things alone," Ezreal replied shaking his head.

"Awe come on, please. I won't get in the way, I promise!" Teemo begged. "I'm very stealthy and my darts hold lethal poison. No one will see me coming."

"Watch!" Teemo said beckoning towards Ezreal.

Ezreal turned to the spot where Teemo had been standing, but he was gone. Ezreal gave a lazy look in every direction and said, "Alright very funny. You're really good at hide and seek along with every other child in Runeterra."

Ezreal walked a few paces before bumping into something that was about as high as a tree stump, but there was nothing to be seen. Suddenly, Teemo appeared in that exact position holding his dart gun at the ready and pointed directly at Ezreal.

Ezreal's eyes grew wide and he began to panic, "Alright, alright don't shoot!"

Teemo laughed again and said, "I'm not going to shoot you, but that was pretty good right? So I can come?"

Regaining his composure, Ezreal replied, "I'm not going to lie that was one of the best invisibility tricks I've ever seen, but I still prefer to be on my own."

Ezreal turned to leave again and yelled, "Take care of yourself Teemo."

"There are more mushrooms you know," Teemo said matter-of-factly after Ezreal.

Ezreal stopped dead in his tracks and began to look around nervously. The last thing he wanted to do was trample over another one of those poisonous death traps.

"I have them all over the marsh. Some are completely invisible"

"Invisible?" Ezreal replied angrily. "So this marsh is basically a minefield then?"

Ezreal winced as he heard Teemo let out a confirming laugh. He hung his head and began to think to himself. He was already having a hard time navigating this marsh, but now that he knew it was full of traps it was going to make it near impossible. Maybe having a companion for a short bit wouldn't be all that bad.

Ezreal turned and with a stern voice said, "So you know the way out of this marsh then?"

"Do I ever!" Teemo said excitedly. "I can get you out in no time!"

"Alright fine," Ezreal replied with closed eyes, gripping the bridge of this nose with his finger and his thumb, "you can come with me, but you have to do as I say. Got it?"

"Yes sir!" Teemo said jumping with joy. "You won't regret this!"

"Yeah I bet I won't," Ezreal said sarcastically under his breath not disturbing an ever gleeful Teemo that was practically running in circles around him.

After waiting a moment for Teemo to gather his gear and check a map that he removed from his backpack, they were off and Ezreal hoped it was finally in the direction of the exit to the marsh.

As they began to walk, Ezreal could hear Teemo next to him, "Hut, two, three, four."

It was the happiest Ezreal had seen anyone in a long time. This little creature, who didn't know Ezreal at all until just today, was overflowing with glee at the thought of going on an adventure. For some reason this made Ezreal perk up. Even though he wasn't too excited about his situation maybe he shouldn't act as gloomy, but rather take a little more time just to appreciate his surroundings. At least for now he didn't have to do it alone.

"Hut, two, three, four," Teemo continued.

"Alright that can't go on for the whole trip," Ezreal replied.

"Yes sir!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Ezreal and Teemo traveled through the Howling Marsh at a lightning pace compared to what Ezreal had been doing on his own. It had turned out to be a good decision to invite his new friend along for the journey. Teemo was a skilled navigator noting different trees and ground formations to determine their place in the watery wasteland. Teemo was careful to point out every danger, including the trap mushrooms that had been laid, so that Ezreal didn't experience anymore painful surprises. Before long they found themselves on the other end of the marsh; a point Ezreal never thought he would see.

On the other side of the marsh, Ezreal and Teemo were greeted by green pastures with the Ironspike Mountains off in the distance. This, Ezreal thought to himself, was a more welcoming sight. He could deal with mountains, as he had explored countless in the past, but he hoped to never see another marsh for as long as he lived. Taking one last glace behind him, Ezreal and Teemo pressed on in the direction of Noxus.

After a short period of walking, Ezreal felt a hand against his leg. Teemo had stuck out one hand to stop Ezreal and in the other he had a long spyglass which he had held up to his face.

"What is it?" Ezreal asked looking down at his new friend.

"Looks like trouble," Teemo said focusing his spyglass. Ezreal looked in the direction Teemo was pointing and saw smoke rising from behind some nearby hills. The smoke was faint, but was quickly growing thicker.

"That's not a forest fire. That is manmade and it's burning something significant," Teemo continued before condensing his spyglass and cramming it back in his backpack.

Ezreal looked back to the now pitch black smoke rising into the sky. The smoke disappeared behind some hills that were a couple hundred yards in front of them. Something told him they should check it out, but he had the mission to consider.

"Let's go find out what it is," Teemo said.

"We can't let it derail our mission," Ezreal replied.

"But someone could need our help," Teemo pleaded.

Ezreal thought for a second and then decided Teemo was right, "Okay, but we stay low and only survey the area for now. If it looks too dangerous we bail."

"I'll scout ahead!" Teemo yelled as he took off towards the hills with Ezreal close in tow.

By the time Ezreal caught up with Teemo, he had already found a spot in a bush and was well hidden. Again he had his spyglass and was surveying the area. Ezreal knelt down next to Teemo in the bush and noticed that the smoke had indeed been manmade. Ezreal watched as flames cascaded across the top of nearly every structure in a small town. The citizens had all been gathered in the center of town into two groups. A choice few had their hands tied behind their backs and were forced to kneel while the other, larger group was corralled in between a large army of Noxian soldiers.

One man, who was obviously the leader, was standing in front of the kneeling citizens giving orders to his soldiers. Ezreal noticed that the man was oddly well groomed for a warrior. Intricate armor adorned his body while fir rested on his shoulders. Two giant blades with circular handholds were attached to his back and a small crown rested atop his brown hair. A large, toothy grin stuck out from behind a long handlebar mustache.

"It's Draaaaven," Teemo said not taking his eye away from his spyglass.

"Draven?" Ezreal responded.

"No…Draaaaven," Teemo repeated as he drug out the name.

Convinced that Teemo was just being weird, Ezreal asked again, "Draven who?"

"It's Draaaaven," Teemo said once again.

Frustrated with the game, Ezreal decided to give in, "Fine, Draaaaven who?"

"Of Noxus," Teemo answered. "He and his brother Darius are Noxian military royalty. They have won countless battles for Noxus though Draaaaven craves more attention and flare."

After listening to Teemo, Ezreal realized he had heard of Draven before. This was the maniac from Noxus that reveled in making a game out of executions. There was nothing good to come out of being around this man.

"We better go. We can't help these people. There are too many soldiers down there," Ezreal said as he started to back away.

Teemo grabbed Ezreal's shirt and pushed the spyglass against his face, "Look who is tied up down there. It's Luxanna Crownguard!"

Ezreal grabbed the spyglass and pointed it in the direction of the tied citizens. He looked until he focused on a blonde girl in the center who was positioned directly in front of Draven.

That's the girl from Demacia! Ezreal thought to himself, the one that gave me directions in the library. Ezreal focused the spyglass closer until he was sure it was her. She was just as beautiful as he remembered and something swelled deep within him.

"We've got to help her," Ezreal blurted to Teemo.

Teemo gave Ezreal a confused look at his sudden urge to help.

"She helped me once. I owe her," Ezreal replied unconvincingly.

Teemo laughed before saying, "Rescuing a member of Demacian royalty will sure look great on my progress report back to Bandle City."

"Demacian royalty?" Ezreal said looking confused.

"Yeah that's Lux. She's the only daughter of the Crownguards of Demacia. I wonder what she is doing all the way out here," Teemo responded.

Again impressed by his little friend's knowledge, Ezreal had no idea that the girl he had a crush on was actually Demacian royalty. Of course he would pick the one girl that was utterly and completely out of his league.

Ezreal shook his head. He had plenty of time to worry about wooing her later, but now he had conjure up a plan to save her. His mind was reeling as fast as it ever had before.

Before he had time to think, he watched as a cart with two large containers was rolled over next to the larger group of citizens. Each container looked to be full to the brim and had a spigot at its bottom. Draven ordered one of his lieutenants to drag a couple of the terrified citizens next to the containers. Once the lieutenant had left the citizens a lever was pulled and one of the spigots was opened surrounding the citizens with an eerie green liquid that quickly began to give off an equally as green gas.

"Oh no!" Ezreal gasped.

"What's going on?" Teemo quickly asked.

Ezreal had seen this before. That was no ordinary gas, instead it was a prototype weapon that Noxus was still testing. The very weapon that he was sent to investigate.

"That gas is a very dangerous weapon," Ezreal explained. "It will turn those people into monsters within minutes."

Just as the words were leaving Ezreal's lips, the citizens began to thrash and tear succumbing to the gas's ill effects. Ezreal watched as Lux was screaming to let them go so much that she was sobbing where she knelt. All Draven did was laugh showing his shining smile to everyone around. He pulled his massive blades from his back and began to twirl them at his sides.

After mere minutes of being exposed to the gas, the once peaceful citizens had lost everything that made them who they were. They were now gnashing, hunched creatures with melted skin, protruding teeth and sharp claws. Small pieces of hair managed to remain attached to their heads as they stood growling.

The creatures emerged from the gas wondering aimlessly until they spotted Draven. It was as if some inkling of knowledge had stuck within the creature's brains and they identified who had done this to them. That or they were mindless killing machines and Draven happened to be the first thing they set their sights on.

Either way was fine with Draven. He laughed as the creatures charged him.

"That's right, come to daddy!" Draven said as he twirled his blades faster.

The creatures were quickly gaining on Draven's position. Without hesitation he launched one of his whirling blades catching the first creature square in the chest. The blade flipped into the air ricocheting off the now crumpled pile of flesh that was left in its wake.

Without missing a beat, Draven threw his second blade with such force Ezreal believed it could have cut diamonds. It flew towards the second creature separating its head from its body in an instant and lodging itself in the ground directly behind.

First blade already in hand, Draven pulled the second from the ground and continued cutting down the monsters one by one with impressive speed. Once finished, he returned the blades snuggly on his back. He kicked the now lifeless creature in obvious disappointment and gave off a disapproving sneer.

"Lieutenant!" Draven yelled. The same warrior from before was quickly at Draven's side. "These creatures are still pathetically weak. The Demacian army will cut them down without any resistance. Report back to Noxus right away!"

"Yes sir!" the lieutenant replied as he and a few other soldiers mounted their horses and rode back in the direction of Noxus.

"As for the rest of these people…gas them! I need the target practice," Draven yelled as he laughed manically. Ezreal watched as the remaining Noxus soldiers scrambled to fulfill his orders.

Seeing enough, Ezreal looked towards Teemo, "We have to disable that gas and free Lux. If I distract Draven can you do that?"

"Yes sir!" Teemo replied.

"Alright get to it and be quick. I don't know how long I can prevent Draven from killing me," Ezreal said with surprising confidence.

"Swiftly!" Teemo replied as he bolted down the side of the hill and out of sight.

Ezreal took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. Here he was about to try to distract an egotistical, Noxian military legend who just demonstrated the pleasure he gets out of making death a game. He looked down at his wrist and noticed his gauntlet. Galio had given him the tools that he needed, he just had to be brave enough to use them.

In a flash Ezreal had disappeared from his position on the hill and reappeared behind Draven.

"Hey mustache over here!" Ezreal yelled.

Draven turned with a fuming expression on his face. No one talks to him that way…no one. He's Draaaaven after all. Upon seeing Ezreal, Draven's face changed back to the glaring smile that he had before.

With a laugh Draven said, "Well, well would you look…at…this. I must have missed you when I was dragging everyone else out of their homes. Come to fight boy?"

"Nah, I just came to point out how sloppy those throws were earlier. It's okay I can tell you are a beginner. Everyone has to learn," Ezreal said.

He couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. Somehow some other Ezreal had taken over his body and was running the show. This Ezreal, however, was far braver than the one before.

Draven's face quickly changed back to fuming mad, but then just as quickly returned back to a large, open-mouthed laugh.

"Wow….the guts in you kid. I like it," Draven said as he removed the blades from his back and began to twirl them at his sides.

"You see Spin and Win here crave blood," Draven said referring to the rapid whirling blades at his side, "And I'm going to give it to them one way or another."

Ezreal took a big gulp, but didn't flinch.

"Those worthless creatures didn't satisfy their hunger, so let's see if a living target will prove more of a challenge," Draven said as launched the first blade directly at Ezreal.

Ezreal warped out of the way as the first blade struck the ground and returned to its owner. Immediately, the second was headed his way, but he shot it out of the air with a bolt from his gauntlet.

Draven laughed and gave off a smirk after Ezreal had successfully dodged the first two throws.

"This is going to be fun, kid. Let's do this!" Draven said before he launched the second onslaught of blades in Ezreal's direction.

As Ezreal and Draven were duking it out in the center of the small town, the Noxus soldier were fervently working on the containers to accommodate such a large crowd.

"We need to get this going…now!" a commanding soldier cried motioning to the remaining men. "Pull that lever on the other side."

As the soldiers moved to the designated side one said, "Boss there are mushrooms growing all over the lever."

"Well rip them off, we need to get this working or Draven will have our head," the soldier replied.

Just as the soldier reached to remove the mushrooms they exploded, covering all nearby Noxians in poisonous purple goo. Instantaneously, the soldiers fell backwards yelling violently and grabbing their faces as their skin was being burned and scarred. Hearing the commotion, the commander came around the side of the cart only to see his men writhing in pain.

"What in the….," the commander said before being hit with a dart in the back of the neck. He immediately fell forward passed out from the dart's fast-acting toxin. Teemo laughed before disappearing once more.

Lux, who was still tied up and kneeling in the center of the town, was torn away from watching Ezreal and Draven's ongoing fight after she caught the mushroom explosion out of the corner of her eye. What was going on? Who was this boy fighting Draven? And what happened to the soldiers over by the cart? All of these thoughts were going through her mind as she was trying to make sense of her situation. These newcomers seemed like they were on her side, but even if she wanted to help she was flanked by two bulky guards who were tasked to guard her and prevent her from escaping.

She frantically looked around for anything that could get her out of her situation. As she was scanning the area she thought she saw a quick glimpse of a rather short, furry figure holding a finger up to his mouth in a hush motion. Before she could confirm what she saw he was gone.

Suddenly she watched as a dart protruded from the neck of one of the men guarding her. Instead of taking him to the ground, the dart only made him mad and he turned on the tiny Teemo who was shocked that his dart didn't work. Because of the sheer size of these warriors it was going to take a stronger dose of toxin to take them down.

The first warrior charged after Teemo, but before the second could follow Lux jumped to her feet tripping the warrior as he tried to run. The warrior fell to the ground with a hard thud and Lux was immediately on top of him kicking him repeatedly in the head. Eventually the warrior fell unconscious from the repeated blows and Lux used the tip of his sword to cut her bonds.

She rubbed her wrists and flexed them to relief. Lux then held out her hand as if waiting for something to happen. From her right, a long wand-like weapon came bursting from a nearby collapsed house and planted itself firmly within her grasp. She gave it a twirl and turned her attention to the fight between Ezreal and Draven.

Draven had knocked Ezreal off his feet and planted him firmly against the ground. Both of his blades were twirling at his side and he again wore a smirk on his face.

Laughing, Draven said, "At least you tried, kid. I've got to say you've impressed me. Not only did you walk in here like you owned the place, but you actually held your ground. We could really use someone like you in Noxus. It's a shame you have to die."

Ezreal raised his hands to his face as Draven reared back and threw one of the whirling blades with all his might. Just before the blade made contact with Ezreal, it ricocheted high into the air leaving him unscathed. Ezreal couldn't believe that he was in one piece. As he lowered his hands he noticed that a thin wall of light was now surrounding and protecting him.

"Where did this come from?" Ezreal caught himself saying in awe.

Draven didn't respond, but merely looked past Ezreal with a scowl. Lux was standing on a broken, wooden platform holding her wand at her side. Draven knew exactly where the shield had come from.

"You meddling witch. How did you get free?" Draven hissed as he spat in Lux's direction.

Looking around, Draven noticed most of his men were either missing or unconscious. He had been so caught up in his fight that Teemo's actions had gone unseen. His face turned to pure anger as he twirled one of his blades above his head. He let out a fierce yell and took aim.

"Not this time!" Ezreal yelled from the ground as he fired a bolt of pure energy straight at Draven.

The bolt connected and knocked Draven off balance. Lux saw her chance and, after a few seconds of concentration, released a massive beam of pure light straight into Draven's chest carrying him off his feet and leaving him crashing to the ground several feet away.

Draven clutched his chest coughing and sputtering as he struggled to regain his composure. Upon returning to his feet, he saw both Ezreal and Lux now poised to make a final, combined attack against him. Knowing that he was outnumbered and needed to retreat, Draven caught the cart full of the weaponized liquid out of the corner of his eye.

With a smirk he cried, "We will have to continue this another day boys and girls. You've got stickier things to deal with."

Draven launched both of his blades so fast in the cart's direction that they destroyed the ground below as they moved. The second that the blades connected with the cart, waves of the vile liquid came spilling out completely surrounding the remaining citizens. As his blades returned, Draven gave off a final laugh before retreating off into the distance.

Ezreal and Lux gasped and Lux ran frantically towards the now covered people. "We've got to save them!" she cried.

Ezreal, knowing it was too late, teleported in front of Lux stopping her in her path.

"Get out of my way!" Lux cried.

"You can't save them. They have already begun to change," Ezreal said trying to reason with the panicked Lux.

Lux pushed Ezreal aside and with tears in her eyes she watched each citizen of the now destroyed town mutate into gnashing, mindless creatures as the gas engulfed them all.

Once their transformation was complete they set their sights on Lux and began to charge. Lux was numb. She had failed to protect these people and all she could do was stand and watch. The waves of creatures were gaining on her position with impressive speed, but she couldn't move.

Suddenly, a large, crescent shaped energy blast flew past Lux and into the onslaught of creatures cutting most of them at the waist. The blast knocked Lux out of her stupor and she shook her head back and forth. She then launched a ball of light from her wand and detonated it in the middle of the remaining monsters turning them into nothing more than a pile of flesh and bone.

More tears flooded her eyes as Lux fell to her knees to weep. Ezreal quickly rushed to Lux's side who was now sobbing uncontrollably into her hands.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Ezreal said frantically as he tried to look for any signs of injuries.

"I couldn't save them," Lux finally said in between her constant sobbing.

"They looked to me to protect them and I failed."

Unsure of what to say Ezreal merely sat beside Lux for a short time trying his best to console her. He desperately wanted to help and was trying to find the best possible words to say.

"You can't beat yourself up, Lux," Ezreal finally said.

"You did the best you could and that's all anyone can ask of you."

"My best wasn't enough!" Lux yelled harsher than she intended.

"I even knew of the attack before it was going to happen. I had a chance to stop all of this, but I failed…I just failed."

Unsure of what he just heard, Ezreal allowed Lux's words to sink in. After going back over them in his mind he decided to ask Lux to repeat herself.

"Wait did you say that you knew of the attack ahead of time? How?" Ezreal asked.

"Yes, I did," Lux said calming herself to a sniffle. "Karthas approached me in Demacia and told me that this town was in urgent need of rescue."

"Karthas?" Ezreal repeated under his breath.

"Yes, Karthas. He told me that the town was going to be attacked and that it would need reinforcements," Lux continued. "I pleaded with Jarvan to send some men, but he refused. I then made the foolish decision to come on my own. I thought I couldn't handle it."

"Wait," Ezreal said now deeply concerned. "How would Karthas know of an impending attack on a small town not even in Demacian territory?"

"He said he had become privy to some recent intelligence," Lux answered.

"And so he didn't bring it to Jarvan or Garen's attention as well?" Ezreal asked highly skeptical at this point.

"I'm…I'm not sure. Jarvan didn't seem to know about it before I brought it up," Lux replied now looking at Ezreal through teary eyes.

"Karthas has always known a lot of the on goings around Demacia though," Lux continued.

"Be that as it may, Karthas is a diplomat and I have a hard time believing Demacia's Special Forces would share that kind of information with him," Ezreal said.

"Maybe he overheard it," Lux replied. "And he was trying to act upon it to save those people."

"Maybe so," Ezreal said very unconvinced by Lux's explanation.

"I wouldn't worry about Karthas, Ezreal," Lux said with now dried eyes, "He has always had the best interests of Demacia at heart."

"If you say so," Ezreal replied. Ezreal was now growing increasingly suspicious of Karthas. On both incidents that Ezreal had with the gas Karthas was involved in one way or another. The first incident he just happened to be there to catch Ezreal as he tried to flee and now he somehow knew about the attack and decided to alert Lux. Something just didn't add up and he couldn't get it out of his head.

Before he could think about it too long another thought popped into his head. Where was Teemo?

"Teemo!" Ezreal felt himself blurt out.

"Who?" Lux replied looking confused.

"Teemo, my frie…uh my scout," Ezreal responded.

Lux thought for a second and then her eyes grew wide as if a sudden realization had come crashing into her mind.

"Oh no! You mean the little furry guy?" Lux said with nervousness in her voice. "Last I saw him he was being chased by one of the bulky Noxian soldiers that was guarding me."

Panic shot through Ezreal's mind and he went careening off back towards the now critically damaged town.

"Teemo!" Ezreal shouted. "Teemo, where are you?"

As Ezreal stopped to look around, Lux was able to catch up to him. Panting and pointing directly ahead of Ezreal she said, "When I saw him run he went that way."

Ezreal shot in that direction yelling Teemo's name at the top of his lungs. The debris was thick and hard to navigate. Ezreal's mind raced at what could have happened to his small companion. He could have been burned by the fire, crushed by falling debris, or worse he could have been killed by the soldier.

As Ezreal rounded a damaged house he saw the bulky soldier laying face first in the dirt. Ezreal raised his arm and approached the soldier cautiously whispering Teemo's name as he walked. As he got closer to the soldier, Ezreal noticed what appeared to be hundreds of tiny little darts covering the soldier's body. Each dart was the same size, but the feathers accompanying them differed. Some feathers were purple, blue, or orange while others had a combination of black and yellow or green and black. Obviously it had taken a concoction of toxins to take down the burly fighter.

As Ezreal made his way around the soldier, he heard the sound of crunching. Getting a little closer he realized it sounded like someone was eating. Looking towards the ground he saw his furry friend unharmed and leaned back against the dead soldier munching on a piece of bread.

Ezreal lowered his arm and said more excitedly than he had expected, "Teemo! There you are!"

Looking up from his snack, Teemo smiled and said, "Oh, hey Ezreal. I found some really yummy bread. Would you like some?"

Suddenly a combination of relief and anger swelled with him. It was an odd feeling and Ezreal couldn't understand why it was happening.

"Why didn't you answer when I was calling your name?" Ezreal said rather harshly.

"You were calling my name?" Teemo replied seeming confused. "I must've not heard it. I'm sorry Ezreal."

"But look!" Teemo exclaimed hopping up from his spot, "I knocked out the soldiers by the cart and…and I took out this big guy and saved Lux."

Teemo was gleefully patting the bulky soldier who had even more darts protruding from him than Ezreal had originally thought. It had obviously been a lengthy fight one that the energetic Teemo came out on top.

"That you did and you did a very good job," Lux said from behind Ezreal, praising her tiny savior.

"I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for your heroics, Teemo. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Teemo puffed out his small chest and saluted Lux. His eyes were welling with pride and he was bursting at the seams with happiness.

Ezreal, meanwhile, was giving Teemo an annoyed stare. How was this little fuzz ball getting all the credit for saving Lux? It's not like he held off an egotistical maniac or anything which is what allowed Teemo to sneak around and take out the others in the first place.

Ezreal allowed the annoyance to pass and then asked, "So what do we do now? Should you be getting back to Demacia, Lux?"

"I'm not going back to Demacia!" Lux quickly said. "I want to make sure that Noxus cannot do this to anyone else."

Ezreal and Teemo stared at Lux not wanting to illicit anymore anger from her.

"But seeing as we are very near Noxus territory, we probably need to take a safer route," Lux continued.

"We can travel through the Ironspike Mountains. I used to train there, so it should be relatively safe. There will be a set of tunnels that will bring us out closer to Noxus."

Ezreal thought about this for a moment before answering back. On the one hand they would be going through mountains in which he was more accustomed. He had been in the Ironspike Mountains in the past, but it had been quite a while. However, on the other hand they were just about guaranteed to run into another batch of krugs…and he hated krugs. After a few seconds he decided that there weren't any better alternatives and decided to give in.

"Yeah that sounds like a plan to me," Ezreal responded.

Lux looked to Teemo who was nodding his head up and down in agreeance.

"Great, it's settled then. Let's go," Lux replied walking past them and in the direction of the Ironspike Mountains.

Ezreal and Teemo looked at one another, shrugged their shoulders, gathered their things, and followed Lux off towards the next step of their journey.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

With the smoldering town now behind them, Ezreal, Teemo, and Lux were now on the fast track to Noxus. Lux had ignited a fire under the team and was pressing them forward at a hefty pace. She wanted to stop Noxus as quickly as possible and she had to constantly prod Ezreal and Teemo to keep up with her. After a rather short walk, Ezreal could see the entrance to a large cave at the base of the Ironspike Mountains.

"Here we are," Lux said proudly finally stopping for a moment which allowed Ezreal and Teemo to reach her side.

"This is one of the many entrances to the Ironspike Mountains," Lux continued. "Many years ago these tunnels were used by miners, but once the mineral they were harvesting proved to be toxic they were forced to abandon it."

Ezreal thought about this for a moment and asked, "So you are taking us through a toxic tunnel? Sounds like a great shortcut."

Lux turned on Ezreal and quickly replied, "The tunnels are no longer hazardous thank you very much. Once the minerals were deemed dangerous they were ordered to be buried back beneath the rock. Because of this parts of the tunnels are inaccessible, but the path we need should still be clear."

Ezreal wasn't sure if he felt relieved or even more worried. The good news was that the toxic minerals had been long buried, but on the other hand they were about to travel through tunnels that, to Ezreal, sounded like they could collapse at any time. Any tunnel that has at one point and time seen the signs of an explosion is always just one wrong rumble away from disaster.

Lux could see the discomfort on Ezreal's face and said, "What are you worried about? Aren't you supposed to be a veteran explorer?"

Ezreal perked up upon hearing what Lux had just said. How did she know he was an explorer? He couldn't remember ever telling her that. A quick smile fluttered across his face and confidence swelled within him.

"You're right. There's nothing to worry about. Let's go," Ezreal said confidently as possible.

Teemo, who always seemed to be happy about his situation oddly enough, cheered and skipped behind the two towards the cave's entrance.

It wasn't long before the trio was at a deep enough point in the cave to where the sunlight didn't reach. Lux removed her wand from her back and held it in front of her like a torch. A small ball of light hung at the top illuminating the direct area. Ezreal followed her lead and pulled a small headlamp from a pouch on his waist and fastened it to his head.

Noticing a faint flickering of light behind him, Ezreal turned to see Teemo holding a stick alight with flame.

"Whe…Where did you get that?" Ezreal asked his small companion.

"A true scout is always prepared," Teemo replied happily.

Ezreal allowed his stare to linger on Teemo for a moment. This little fur ball never ceased to amaze him. He seemed to be prepared for almost anything and could adapt to almost any situation. That and the fact that apparently the backpack that he carried was a black hole of infinite possibilities. Impressive was a good word for him and Ezreal was feeling better and better about his decision to bring him along.

"Alright then," Ezreal replied before turning to follow Lux.

After a few more steps in silence, Lux spoke up, "Alright we need to be careful from here on out. These tunnels run parallel to the ones that were collapsed. Who knows what the explosions unearthed, so keep your eyes open."

This put Ezreal on edge. All he could think about was another krug wave coming down on top of them before they even realized what was happening. He kept his headlamp focused on the cave walls. At least this way Lux could lead and he could keep an eye out for krugs or any other creatures that lived within these caverns.

The trio slowly made their way through the tunnels; each one getting harder to navigate as they got deeper. Some areas required merely stepping over fallen rocks while others required squeezing through the smallest of crevasses in order to get to the other side. After what seemed like a couple of hours, Lux stuck out her arm to stop everyone from moving.

"Shhh, stop," Lux said in a hushed tone. "I think I hear…voices. Up ahead."

Lux gave them a wave of her hand to follow her and to stay low. The three crept up the side of a large rock formation until they could see the hue of a bright light.

"Quick put out your lights," Lux whispered.

Lux allowed her wand to fade and she placed it back on her back. Ezreal turned off his headlamp and Teemo blew out the flame on his stick. All three had resorted to a crawl until they reached just far enough up their rock formation to peer over the side.

What they saw on the other side made them gasp. The cavern they were peering into was massive with towering ceilings and wide walls. Large drilling machines were hard at work against the cavern walls and a conveyor belt was transporting all sorts of brightly colored rocks to some other location. Blinding lights were installed all along the cavern walls which shone down back towards the cavern floor. Little creatures completely clothed in purple and blue robes were hard a work digging the stones out of the walls and quickly loading them onto the nearby conveyor belts.

Trying to take all of this in, Ezreal couldn't help but ask, "What is going on?"

Lux looked at him and in a hushed voice replied, "They have obviously salvaged some of the old mining equipment and have switched it back on. Those are the very rocks that were deemed to be toxic and dangerous."

"Who are they?" Ezreal asked noting the small creatures in different colored robes.

Lux was silent for a second but then replied, "I don't know their official name. All I know is that people call them minions. They can be pretty nasty if riled up."

"What do they want with those stones?" Ezreal asked.

"I'm not sure," Lux replied with a confused look plastered across her face. "Whatever the reason it can't be worth risking their health over it."

Just then the voices from before started up again. They were coming from three different men down at the bottom of the cavern. Lux, Ezreal and Teemo shifted around until they could see the owners of the voices.

"Look over there," Teemo said pointing to the three men.

"I'm telling you something is up," Draven said angrily. "There is no way it was a coincidence the twerp that was talking to Jarvan and Garen in Demacia just happened to show up and screw with my plans."

"It is your fault alone, Draven that you cannot simply follow orders without trying to show off," a raspy, angry voice replied.

Ezreal looked at the man from which the voice came. He had black hair and the effects of time and war were written all over his beaten, angry face though a bandana covered his mouth. A long, black robe draped to the floor which was crowned by armored shoulder pads which rested next to his head. He carried a wooden walking cane and Ezreal noticed that he moved with a limp as he walked closer to Draven.

"If you had devised a better plan I could have…" Draven said before being cut off by the man once again who was now face to face with Draven.

"Don't you ever question my orders or the strategy that lies behind them. Do you understand me?" the man asked. "Do you?!"

"Yes sir. I'm sorry, Commander Swain," Draven said biting his tongue as he talked.

"Besides if you weren't too busy showboating, the girl would be dead," Swain continued. "At least you managed to test the weapon in order to find out that it is still not strong enough. This will need to be fixed."

"The girl would be dead if that twerp and his pet hamster wouldn't have shown up," Draven said offended by Swain's remarks.

"How did the kid even find out? I blame you," Draven said pointing to another rather old man in a long robe holding a staff at his side.

Looking to where Draven was pointing, Lux and Ezreal's eyes widened as they let out a muffled gasp.

"It can't be," Lux said under her breath.

"I merely set the stage for the girl to show up alone. I told her that innocent people were going to be killed and that she was the only one who could to stop it because Jarvan and Garen would simply be too busy," Karthas said with a calm tone.

"I did my part," Karthas continued looking back between the other two men, "Just as Swain said you only have yourself to blame, Draven."

A scowl covered Draven's face and he stood without saying another word. Draven wasn't afraid of Karthas, but it was obvious that was not the case for Swain. Draven seemed fearful of Swain; maybe because he outranked Draven or maybe it was something else entirely.

"Regardless our focus now must be harvesting as many of these rocks as possible," Karthas said breaking the silence once again. "If we are to strengthen the weaponized gas, then these rocks will serve as the foundation on which to build that power."

"Agreed," Swain replied.

"That's it," Lux said quietly to Ezreal who returned an unsure look. "The minions don't want the rocks at all. They are slave labor so that Noxus can harvest the source of the gas without sacrificing their men. Like I needed another reason to despise them."

It was all starting to make sense to Ezreal now. Noxus had discovered an untapped potential in these rocks and managed to turn them into a weapon. They then intend to use that weapon against their oldest foe…Demacia.

"We've got to tell Jarvan and Garen about this," Ezreal replied.

Lux and Teemo gave Ezreal a confirming nod and the three began to crawl their way back down the rock. Before they could move, however, an abnormally large raven landed next to them. It stared at them for a few seconds, cocking its head from side to side, before letting out one of the loudest, ear piercing screeches the group had ever heard.

Immediately Swain, Karthas, and Draven turned to the squawking bird's location searching for the reason for the commotion.

"Intruders!" Swain yelled throughout the cavern. "Find them, now!"

Swain motioned at the minions with his cane, commanding each creature to pursue the now fleeing trio.

"So much for being quiet. We need to move!" Ezreal exclaimed as he was basically pushing Lux and Teemo down the rock.

Upon returning to the cavern floor, Ezreal, Lux, and Teemo saw a wave of purple and blue flooding in their direction. Each little minion had turned every piece of mining equipment they could find into weapons and were violently swinging them over their heads.

"Run!" Ezreal screamed as the trio darted in the opposite direction.

All three were running for their lives; jumping over rocks, clearing wide fissures with single leaps, and dodging hidden pools of water. No matter how hard they ran, however, the little creatures still seemed to be gaining on them.

"Which way?!" Ezreal yelled as they came to a fork.

Lux paused as she looked back and forth between each option trying to make up her mind.

"This way," Lux said as she ran down the cavern with Ezreal and Teemo in tow.

As they ran down the chosen path, something in Ezreal's stomach told him this was wrong. Before too long he saw why as their path was cut off by a large boulder.

"This wasn't here before," Lux said panic setting into her voice.

"Well it is now so what do we do?" Ezreal said looking back over his shoulder. He could hear the minions right around the corner.

"Just give me a second. If I can focus I can blast a hole in the rock big enough for us to pass," Lux said as she shut her eyes trying to calm herself down.

"I don't know if we have a second," Ezreal replied, but Lux was tuning him out.

"Teemo," Ezreal called down to his friend who for the first time looked scared. "Throw a handful of your mushrooms as far as you can back the way we came."

Teemo perked up, reached into his bag, and pulled out a handful of bright green mushrooms, "Yes sir!"

He hurled them as hard as he could and they watched them disappear into the darkness of the cave. Ezreal then lifted his gauntlet, took aim down the corridor, and waited. Within seconds, the sound of the exploding mushrooms filled the cavern accompanied by the squeals of the unsuspecting minions.

"Here goes nothing!" Ezreal exclaimed as he pulled back on the mystical bow that had now formed on top of his gauntlet. He released and a large crescent energy blast shot forward cutting the edges of the cavern as it flew in the direction of the squeals.

Ezreal and Teemo listened as the attack hit its mark. More squeals echoed through the cavern, but it wasn't long before the sounds of stampeding feet and clanging mining equipment picked up once more.

"Okay, we bought you your second," Ezreal said as he turned to look at Lux who appeared to be meditating.

"Lux!" Ezreal yelled just before Lux opened her eyes and removed her wand. Lux held the wand out in front of her and with a loud yell she forced a blinding stream of light to propel from its tip. The light stream carved through the rock as if it were made of paper and cut a hole just large enough for the three to crawl through.

"You did it!" Ezreal yelled.

Lux was panting hard, but looked up to the wonderful sight of a very passable crawl space. Without hesitation, Ezreal pushed Lux and Teemo through the hole. He urged the two on as he watched the minions round the corner. At the last second he slipped through the hole and listened as the wave pounded against the bolder. One by one the minions followed the trio, crawling through the newly made path at an alarming speed.

"Persistent aren't they," Ezreal yelled right before he reached the other side.

"Look, there's the exit!" Lux exclaimed urging the other two to follow her.

Just as they were about to exit the cave for good, Ezreal felt a tug on his foot. The minions had caught up to him and were now hanging off his feet. Ezreal kicked the minion away, but not before more swarmed his location. They were coming through the boulder at an alarming rate and there was nothing else to slow them down.

"What do we do now? We have no way else to stop them," Lux said.

"I guess we fight," Ezreal said lifting his gauntlet. "If we can thin them out quickly we will pick them off one by one as they come out of the boulder."

Ezreal, Lux, and Teemo turned to confront their pursuers. Energy blasts, flashes of light, and poison darts flew back into the cave's mouth striking the minions as the exited the cave. The trio was giving it all they had, but it began to sink in that there were just too many.

"We are going to have to run," Lux yelled over the fighting. "We will tire ourselves out before they quit coming."

"Agreed, on three," Ezreal replied. "One…two…THREE."

The moment the word three left his lips, Ezreal watched a huge lance travel over his head and into the arch of the cave's mouth. The arch, weakened by years of explosions and mining, quickly caved in pinning the minions below and sealing the cave shut. Immediately, Demacian knights on horseback surrounded the trio and quickly dispatched of the remaining, stranded minions.

Lux turned and to her relief said, "Jarvan! So good to see you."

"You too my lady. And it seems I was not a moment too soon," Jarvan replied from atop his armored horse.

"What are you doing this far out, Jarvan?" Lux asked.

"We have had to increase our patrols due to the increase in Noxian soldier incidents. When I learned of your disappearance I ordered my patrols to find you with haste. But I could ask the same question of you, Lux," Jarvan said with a fatherly tone.

"I see you have met our new…recruit," Jarvan said motioning to Ezreal.

Ezreal gave a forced smile and a slight nod of his head as he listened to Lux explain herself.

"I came to help the town that was going to be attacked," Lux said firmly.

"I told you we didn't have the resources to…," Jarvan replied before being interrupted.

"It was a setup, Jarvan. Karthas planned the whole thing. He knew you and Garen wouldn't have the men to spare and he knew I would foolishly try to help," Lux explained.

"Karthas?" Jarvan replied sounding shocked. "Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure," Lux replied. "He along with Draven and Swain are the ones that sent these minions after us. They are mining Viralite from the mountains to be used for their weapon."

Jarvan stiffened up obviously pondering the information he was just given. After a few seconds he said, "How do you know of the weapon?"

"I saw it with my own eyes and Ezreal filled me in on the rest," Lux said motioning back to Ezreal who only gave a nervous wave as he hung his head.

"I see, so you couldn't do it on your own then," Jarvan said motioning to Ezreal. "You had to involve Demacian royalty into your…"

"He saved my life Jarvan," Lux said cutting off Jarvan again. Hearing this Ezreal lifted his head in pride. Happiness swelled in his chest after hearing Lux give him credit for saving her life. "He and Teemo that is."

"Who is Teemo?" Jarvan said with a distorted look on his face.

"Teemo show yourself," Ezreal said as he turned his head to the seemingly empty space next to him.

Within a few seconds Teemo appeared out from behind Ezreal with a hung head and said to Jarvan, "I am, sir."

Jarvan looked at the tiny yordle and said, "Be that as it may you are coming with me. These two have a mission to fulfill, but we cannot risk losing you. You are lucky that I haven't told Garen that you are missing. He would be worried sick."

"I am not leaving. I'm going to see this through," Lux said angrily.

Ezreal listened to Lux make her case to Jarvan, but the happiness that he had felt left him as fast as it had come. Jarvan mentioned that he hadn't told Garen about Lux's disappearance. Ezreal knew what that meant. It meant that Lux was even farther out of his league than he had previously thought. How didn't he see it? Of course she would be with Garen. He was the most decorated fighter Demacia had ever seen. He was a perfect fit for the girl who was basically the princess. Ezreal couldn't compete with that. He was a nobody; a simple explorer that until recently was pretty much unknown. He didn't stand a chance. Ezreal's shoulders drooped and he allowed his head to hang once again.

"Fine, you can stay," Ezreal heard Jarvan say. "But, be careful Lux."

"I will Jarvan, I promise," Lux said with a nod.

"Me and my men will ride back to Demacia to investigate the allegations you have claimed against Karthas," Jarvan said grabbing the reins of his horse. "If he is indeed working for Noxus we will find out and we will arrest him. In the meantime gather as much intelligence as you can about this weapon. We must find out everything that we can."

"As for you two," Jarvan said with a strict voice ridding over next to Ezreal and Teemo. "Your mission just got a little more important. Do not, under any circumstances, let anything happen to Lux. You must protect her with your life if need be. Is that clear?"

Both Ezreal and Teemo nodded and replied in unison, "Yes sir."

"Good, now all of you be safe and proceed with haste. We will talk again soon," Jarvan said as he spurred his horse and commanded his men back towards Demacia.

The trio watched Jarvan and his knights ride off until they were out of sight.

"What was that about?" Ezreal asked trying to hide his anger.

"Jarvan and Garen still think I can't handle myself," Lux replied with obvious frustration. "They are so overprotective of me. That is part of the reason why I ran off to try to defend that town by myself. I wanted to prove to them that I can hold my own. And that's also why I want to see this mission through even though Jarvan obviously doesn't want me to."

"But let me get something straight," Lux said now turning to face both Ezreal and Teemo, "I don't care what Jarvan thinks, I am not a little girl and I don't need you to protect me."

Realizing her overly harsh tone, Lux continued, "Now that doesn't mean I don't need your help. I just ask that you don't treat me like some delicate flower that can easily be damaged. I can take it."

"Believe me you don't have to tell us that, Lux. We've seen it firsthand. You are amazingly talented," Ezreal quickly replied as Teemo nodded behind him.

Lux felt herself blushing and she immediately looked in the other direction, "Well good…let's um…keep it that way then."

After a few moments of awkward silence between the three Ezreal finally said, "Well I guess we better get going. Now that the highest Noxian general knows of our meddling he will surely amp up his efforts."

"Agreed," Lux and Teemo said nearly in perfect unison.

"What's our plan then?" Ezreal asked looking back and forth between Teemo and Lux.

"We have to go to Noxus," Lux replied. "We can't let them test or even ship out any more of that vile toxin."

"Agreed. Which way then?" Ezreal replied.

Lux looked around to survey where they currently stood. The only entrance to the Ironspike Mountains was now sealed shut and she could hear the remaining minions still trying to find a way through the rubble. In the other direction was a wide open field with no cover whatsoever. This was also not an option as they were now deep in Noxian territory and would for sure be spotted before they reached the city which could be seen over the horizon.

"We are very close to Noxus," Lux finally said, "But I just can't figure out the best way to approach without getting caught."

"We could go through the sewer," Teemo said who had outstretched a large map across the green grass at their feet.

"That's a good option," Ezreal said looking down at the map and shaking his head in agreeance. "It would definitely provide us cover and I bet it isn't patrolled at all."

"Yeah there's a reason it isn't patrolled," Lux said with a severely crinkled face at the thought of having to walk through a sewer. "Are you sure there isn't another way?"

Lux watched Teemo as he scanned over his map as fast as he could trying to locate a better route to the reviled city. His little furry fingers ran over the map and his eyes were moving so fast Lux was worried they would pop out of his head.

"The only other safe way would be to go back through the Ironspike Mountains, through Zaun, and then approach from the coast," Teemo said worry plastered across his face. "However, because our only nearby entrance into the Ironspike Mountains is now sealed shut, this would be a couple of day trip at best."

Lux pondered what Teemo was telling her and asked, "Well where is the nearest entrance to the sewer?"

"It should be located next to this large river that cuts through the mountains," Teemo said pointing to the location on his map. "Noxus is notorious for their unconcerned approach when it comes to the environment. If I remember correctly their sewer dumps directly into that river via a drain pipe. We could enter the pipe and follow it into the city."

"So, what are we looking at travel wise?" Lux asked.

"No time at all," Teemo said happily looking up at Lux and Ezreal. "If I'm correct in my thinking this cave fortunately brought us out very close to the river."

"The river should be right over that hill," Teemo said pointing to a nearby grass mound. "And the pipe should then be close. The trek into the city then at that point shouldn't take very long. I would say in all we are looking at a few hours."

"Wow, that's it?" Ezreal exclaimed after hearing Teemo's explanation. "A couple of days versus a few hours? That's a no brainer. To the sewer it is!"

Teemo cheered, folded up his map, and placed it back into his pack. Though both of them liked this plan, they turned to find a far less positive Lux staring back at them.

"What's wrong?" Ezreal said to Lux.

"We have to walk through a sewer?" Lux said disgusted at the idea.

"Unless you can think of a better way," Ezreal said shrugging his shoulders, "but there doesn't really seem to be one."

Lux slumped her shoulders and let out a long sigh. She knew Ezreal was right and that the sewers were their best bet and fastest route. She slowly ran her hand down her face and then straightened back to her full height.

"I know," she dragged. "But let's make it as quick as possible, okay?"

"Of course we will," Ezreal said placing a hand on Lux's shoulder.

They gave off a smile and a nod to one another and then noticed Teemo who had his backpack firmly secured and was raring to go.

"Besides," Ezreal continued, "we have the best team anyone could ask for."

The trio laughed and began walking in the direction of the drain pipe. They all began to enjoy the sunny weather and the wind against their faces. Once in the sewers that would be a luxury that they wouldn't be afforded.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

As they topped the hill, the trio was greeted by the impressive Ironspike River. They watched in awe as the powerful stream was pushed ever-forward, twisting and turning through rocks and debris, leaving churning rapids in its wake. The river cut through the Ironspike Mountains leaving a passage to northern Runeterra. As they inspected the river, it wasn't long before they found their path.

"Look there's the sewage pipe," Ezreal said as he pointed to a massive concrete tube which had a steady flow of murky liquid running from its bottom.

"Yeah that's it alright," Lux said hatred lacing her words. "Leave it to Noxus to pollute such a wonderful river."

"How do we get across?" Ezreal asked.

"There should be a bridge right…," Teemo replied as he was scanning down the river, "there!"

Teemo pointed to a rather narrow wooden bridge that expanded over the length of the churning river. The bridge didn't instill much confidence in the trio as it looked pretty old and had obviously not been maintained. Various floor boards were missing and the railing was almost nonexistent. It looked like at any moment the river would sweep it away and finish crushing it into a pulp.

Ezreal and Lux stared at the bridge unwilling to be the one who tested its sturdiness. Finally, Ezreal said, "Great…let's get moving then."

Ezreal walked to the edge of the bridge, grabbed a support piece, and gave it a shake. The bridge wobbled slightly, but remained in place. He looked at the churning rapids below the bridge and then back to the group.

"See it's not that bad," he said.

"Easy for you to say. You can just teleport to the other side," Lux said not taking her eyes off the river.

"Where is Teemo?" Ezreal then asked looking around for the yordle.

Lux laughed and covered her mouth with her hand. With the other she pointed to the bridge and said, "Right there." 

Ezreal turned to see the ever carefree Teemo happily skipping across the bridge, eyes shut and not a worry in the world. He danced to the other side without issue and waved for the others to join him.

"See, Teemo made it with no problem," Ezreal said trying to console Lux.

"Yeah because he weighs about as much as my left leg," Lux quipped back sarcastically.

"It's going to be okay," Ezreal said. "I'll go first."

Ezreal walked up next to the bridge and steadied himself the best he could. Slowly, while starring down at his feet, he made his way across his new unsettling path.

 _Creak. Creak. Creak._ Every step he took the remaining floorboards alerted Ezreal to their age. He held out his arms for balance as the handrails were in far worse shape than the rest of the bridge. For a moment he glanced over and caught the sight of the rapids that were waiting patiently to sweep him away. He gulped hard and told himself to focus forward.

 _Creak. Creak._ The floorboards continued as Ezreal was now moving faster as he edged closer to the other side.

A few more steps, Ezreal thought to himself. I'm almost across. Just as the thoughts were leaving his mind, the board under his foot gave way and crumbled into the river. Ezreal slipped, but pushed off with his remaining foot propelling his body far enough to land on the ground next to Teemo.

Ezreal lay on his back panting and staring at the sky trying to steady himself and remain calm. After a few seconds, he stood up and looked over at Lux who was now increasingly frightened.

"You can do it, Lux," Ezreal said trying to sound reassuring. "Everything will be fine."

Lux nodded and took a deep breath. She approached the bridge and started to cross in the same fashion as she had watched Ezreal. Slowly, but surely she made her way across only pausing to regain her balance. She could hear the sound of the churning river under her footsteps, but forced herself not to panic.

"You've got this. Just focus," Lux whispered to herself.

As she was about halfway across, she heard Ezreal scream, "Lux to your left!"

Lux turned only to see a thick log hurdling towards the bridge. She crouched down, gripping the only part of the railing that was left and braced for impact. With a jaw breaking thud, the log slammed into the main support pillar of the bridge nearly knocking Lux into the rapids. The bridge moaned and swayed trying to recover from the pounding force, but it was too much. Lux turned and watched as the bridge had weathered all it could take and the support cracked in half and began to fall into the river.

"Ezreal!" Lux yelled hugging the railing with all her might. Part of the bridge had collapsed and it was only moments until the rest followed suit.

Without hesitation Ezreal ran with all his might jumping at the last possible second where the floorboards where missing. He landed squarely in front of Lux smashing the remaining railing into the water below in the process. He heard the cracking of the bridge and knew it was only seconds before the rest would succumb to the damage.

He got Lux to her feet and said, "Hold on tight."

Lux wrapped her arms around Ezreal and in a flash they reappeared next to a relieved Teemo on the other side of the river. They turned and watched as the rest of the bridge collapsed and disintegrated before their eyes.

Lux squealed and hugged Ezreal with all her might. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Lux exclaimed. "How did you know that you could do that?"

"I didn't," Ezreal replied still looking amazed that he was able to teleport them both out of danger. "I half expected us to end up in the river."

"Well it was brilliant!" Lux cheered as she kissed Ezreal on the check before softening her grasp.

Both Ezreal and Lux immediately turned bright red after realizing what had happened. They stared at one another awkwardly, but didn't move away.

"Awe!" Teemo cried behind them as he clapped his furry hands together in excitement.

"I'm so glad you two are okay," Teemo said as he ran over to join in the hug.

The three embraced and took a minute to appreciate their situation. After a few seconds Ezreal broke the silence.

"Alright, now off to Noxus. We've got a weapon to stop."

Lux and Teemo nodded and the trio turned their attention to the nearby concrete pipe. As they approached it, they noticed it was three times their size which would make it easy for them to walk. Only a light stream of water was flowing from the bottom making that one less problem to have to navigate. Teemo noticed a broken piece along the side which created a sizable hole and pointed.

"There's how we get in," he said.

Ezreal agreed and turned to look at Lux who was very hesitant to accept this entrance.

"Well maybe there is another way. I mean it's pretty dirty and all…"

"I'm all ears if you have another suggestion," Ezreal replied.

Lux looked all around the pipe and even into the hills that sat above. As she continued to search a defeated look crept across her face. She knew they had to get to Noxus and unfortunately this was the way they had to go.

"Alright let's go," Lux finally said as she allowed her shoulders to droop. "But let's make it quick, okay?"

"Certainly," Ezreal said reassuringly.

Teemo ran over to the broken pipe and looked up into the hole. Turning to Ezreal he said, "Give me a boost."

"One, two, three!" said Ezreal as he hoisted his small, furry friend up into the pipe.

"How does it look, Teemo?" Ezreal asked.

After a few seconds of no reply, Ezreal asked again, "Teemo? You there?"

Ezreal stuck his head near the opening and said again, "Teem…."

Ezreal let out a shriek as Teemo popped out from around the corner, "Boo!"

"What was that for?!" Ezreal said angrily. He watched as Teemo fell over laughing and then back at Lux who had her hand over her mouth trying to force herself not to laugh.

"Alright knock it off," Ezreal said pushing Teemo out of the way as he climbed into the pipe. "Let's go Lux."

A disgusted look returned to her face and Lux begrudgingly followed the two into the broken pipe.

Though the pipe smelled and it was rather wet, it was far better lit than the tunnels of the Ironspike Mountains. Once they had gotten so deep that the light from the beginning of the pipe couldn't be seen, they noticed small lights had been affixed to the sides.

The trio continued at a decent pace walking along the mostly solid walkway that was built along the side of the running sewage. The pipe continued to grow larger the farther they got and it was a pleasant surprise that they could remain upright. Other than the occasional rat and mysterious sewer reptile, the sewer pipe didn't pose many dangers.

"Blech. This place is disgusting," Lux said breaking the silence. "I will never get all of this grime out of my clothes."

Without turning to Lux, Ezreal rolled his eyes and gently shook his head.

"Ow!" Ezreal suddenly screamed as he rubbed his head. "What was that for?"

Lux had slammed her wand down on Ezreal's head and she greeted him with a scowl. "I know you rolled your eyes at me, Ezreal! Don't be rude!"

Ezreal was about to reply, but he was interrupted by Teemo, "Shhhh, be quiet."

The trio had come to the end of their original pipe and was now presented with two options. One pipe led off to the left while the other to the right. Teemo peered around the side and quickly jerked his head back. He hurried to the other two and pushed them back in the direction from which they had come.

"Teemo, what are you…"

"Shhh, be quiet and move," Teemo replied cutting Ezreal off. Teemo pushed them into a small crevasse that was cut out of the side of the pipe.

"Someone is coming," Teemo explained. "I can hear them talking."

Sure enough after just a couple of minutes two men came walking from the direction of the left pipe. Ezreal peered around the trio's hiding place and noticed the men were wearing some sort of yellow jumpsuit and both of them had gas masks resting on top of their heads. One man had a small tank strapped to his back while the other had some sort of muzzle and a set of chains thrown over his shoulder.

"I don't know why they sent us down here," one man said.

"Yeah it's not like we are going to find him," the other replied. "He knows these pipes better than we do."

"I prefer it that way. The less time I have to be down here the better," the first man said. "Besides I don't have any desire to come face to face with him. He is always so angry."

"Yeah not even Swain can control him," the second replied. "I don't even know why they tolerate the thing and allow it to roam around down here."

Ezreal continued to listen to the men's conversation until they were out of ear range. After he was certain they were gone he climbed down from their hiding place.

"Who were they?" Teemo asked.

"Noxian workers," Ezreal replied. "I noticed the crest of Noxus on the back of their jumpsuits."

"What were they doing down here?" Lux asked.

"I think they were looking for something….," Ezreal replied, "or someone."

"Down here?" Teemo said unbelievingly.

"Yeah I think," Ezreal replied. "And judging by the equipment they had with them it wasn't a friend. We better be careful."

"They went that way," Ezreal said pointing down the right pipe.

"Let's go then," Lux replied.

Ezreal carefully made his way down the right pipe followed by Lux with Teemo pulling up the end. He sure hoped they were going the right way as he knew after a few more turns they would be utterly lost. He knew, however, that their best bet was to follow the direction of the workers.

After a few minutes of walking, Ezreal noticed how quiet the pipes had become. The flow of water from this direction was merely a trickle leaving nothing to distract from the eerie silence. Every now and then Ezreal would look back and he began to notice that Teemo wasn't acting like his normal carefree self, but instead was rather on edge.

"Everything okay, Teemo?" Ezreal finally asked.

Teemo whipped his head back to Ezreal and said, "Oh yes…just fine."

Knowing that Teemo was lying, Ezreal asked again, "Are you sure?"

Teemo hesitated before saying, "Well, um…not to freak both of you out, but do you keep hearing breathing and panting sounds every now and then?"

Fear shot across both Ezreal and Lux's face. They both quickly surveyed their surroundings and then looked back at Teemo.

"I haven't heard anything," Ezreal said nervously.

"Neither have I," said Lux.

"Okay," Teemo said nodding his head quickly over and over as he continued to look around. His small, furry ears were perked up and twitching in different directions.

Ezreal walked closer to Teemo and said, "We will keep an eye out okay? Besides we are almost to the end of the sewer I believe."

Teemo nodded and continued following Ezreal and Lux. Within minutes the group came to an opening which led into a wide cylindrical room with a large pool of water in the center. A catwalk surrounded the pool and a pipe continued on the opposite end of where they were standing. Ezreal looked up and noticed that the room extended high into the air. Many different pipes protruded from the walls all of which were dumping water into the center pool.

As Ezreal and Lux were inspecting this new room, Ezreal heard a now increasingly nervous Teemo behind them, "Um, guys….you might want to look at this."

Ezreal and Lux turned to see what Teemo was referencing. He was pointing at the wall next to the opening of their pipe. Four deeps gashes were cut into the concrete wall each side by side as if made by a large claw.

Ezreal's eyes grew wide and he said, "Alright let's hurry up and get out of this sewer."

"I think the exit is that way," Ezreal said pointing to the pipe on the opposite end of the catwalk.

Just as the words left Ezreal's mouth, they heard a noise coming from above them. The sound of splashing water echoed through the room as if someone….or something was running down one of the pipes above their heads.

"Run! Now!" Ezreal yelled as the trio ran around the catwalk, trying to make it to the other side.

The group ran as hard as they could, but as they were rounding the side of the catwalk Ezreal heard a loud thud against the metal. Ezreal turned and saw that Teemo had tripped on the catwalk and was now bleeding profusely from his knee. The noise above them stopped and all three looked up and froze. Ezreal could now hear the faint sound of sniffing and growls. For some reason Ezreal now felt a pulse in his chest as if the hands of a large clock were ticking right next to him or like it was…his own heartbeat. The sound rang through him like something had intensified his heartbeat and was tracking it. Panic shot through him and he ran to Teemo's side hoisting him onto his shoulder.

"Go!" Ezreal yelled at Lux as she ran around the catwalk with Ezreal close behind.

Ezreal ran with Teemo thrown over shoulder, blood dripping down his back from Teemo's wound. The beating sound was now more intense and it was taking over Ezreal's mind. With every drop of blood that hit his back, the sound grew louder. As they reached the other end of the catwalk, Ezreal looked over his shoulder just in time to see the source of their fear.

A massive beast stood in the opening of the highest pipe sniffing the air. Two massive claws were positioned on each side of the pipe and its legs were positioned to strike. Hair covered its body and its eyes glowed red.

"Go, go, go!" Ezreal yelled frantically forcing Lux faster down the lower pipe. As Ezreal turned he heard the beast let out a piercing howl that rang through the sewers.

Ezreal and Lux were running as hard as they ever had in their life. They heard a deafening clang behind them and Ezreal knew the beast had jumped down and connected with the catwalk. _Splash, splash, splash_ ; Ezreal could hear the creature running directly through the water behind them snarling and growling like a crazed maniac. Run faster, Ezreal thought to himself, we've got to get out of here.

"Watch out!" Ezreal heard Teemo yell from his back.

Before he could react, Ezreal felt a massive claw grip his shoulder and within seconds Teemo was ripped from his grasp. The beast flew over his head as it pushed Ezreal into Lux knocking them both against the pipe wall. Ezreal watched in horror as it ran off ahead of them on all four legs with Teemo firmly in its mouth.

"Ezreal!" Teemo's yell echoed down the pipe back to his friends.

Within seconds Ezreal and Lux were on their feet in pursuit of the beast that now had their friend. As they ran, they could still hear the beast splashing through the water up ahead and the squeals of the now panicked Teemo. Try as he might, Ezreal couldn't keep up and they were losing ground on the beast. Ezreal and Lux stopped, doubled over with exhausted pain and panting as they could only listen to Teemo's sounds disappear into the distance.

"What do we do now?" Lux said panting and looking at Ezreal.

Lux watched as Ezreal hung his head and tried to catch his breath, but no answer came.

"Ezreal!" Lux said again.

"I don't know!" Ezreal yelled harsher than he intended. "Just…just give me a minute."

Ezreal forced himself upright, still panting, and surveyed his surroundings.

"There," Ezreal finally said pointing to a ladder that was built into the side of the pipe wall. "It looks like that ladder goes to a manhole cover which is bound to lead to the surface."

"But we don't know where that will come out," Lux replied. "We could come out right in the middle of Noxus."

"We don't know where any of these pipes will come out," Ezreal said. "And now we don't have the luxury to wait. We've got to find Teemo."

"You're right," Lux replied.

Ezreal and Lux made their way to the ladder and began to climb. Wherever this ladder led, Ezreal just hoped it would lead them closer to Teemo. As long as it did that and as long as Teemo was still alive, they would deal with whatever came next.

As they reached the manhole cover, Ezreal looked down to Lux and was greeted with a reassuring nod. He slowly slid back the cover being careful not to make any loud noises. Once the cover was slid back, Ezreal lifted his head to get a better look around.

They were in luck! The ladder led to a manhole cover that was in the center of what seemed to be a freshly delivered shipment to Noxus as the manhole was completely surrounded by large boxes and wooden barrels. Ezreal slowly pulled himself up and was happy to see that the Noxus soldiers were all distracted by something that was taking place in the center of town.

Ezreal motioned to Lux and whispered, "Come up. Quietly."

Ezreal helped Lux out of the hole and then easily slid the cover back into place. They both took cover behind one of the boxes and began to look around.

"We've got to find Teemo," Ezreal whispered to Lux.

Lux pointed to the center of town and said, "I think he's over there."

Ezreal looked where she was pointing, but he couldn't see anything, "I need a better look."

Ezreal slowly made his way around some of the boxes still remaining undetected from the large amount of soldiers that were surrounding the area. Once he could finally see what was going on he motioned to Lux to join him. She hesitantly looked around and then quickly joined Ezreal behind a stack of boxes.

"I don't see him," Ezreal said to Lux.

"Right there," Lux pointed to the tiny Teemo who was sitting in the center of the Noxus soldiers with his head hung and his ears drooping. "And that's Swain in front of him."

Ezreal's face tensed with anger as all he could do was listen to the raspy voice of Swain torture his little friend.

"Well, well, well look at what the cat drug in," Swain said walking around Teemo as the Noxus soldiers jeered, "Or I guess in this case it would be the dog."

Swain looked in disgust over to the beast that had taken Teemo from the sewers. It was on all fours and growling at Swain with obvious hatred. Swain's bird was squawking in return. Ezreal saw that the beast wasn't actually a dog, but rather a werewolf. Ezreal's face grew to confusion as he realized the werewolf looked less like a beast and more like it was someone's science experiment. Its arms and claws had been augmented with metal which contained vials and tubes that housed strange green liquid that flowed through a tank on its back. All sorts of tubes ran from the tank and Ezreal could only guess that at some point these tubes ran directly into the creature's body.

"I know you aren't here alone, yordle," Swain continued. "Where are your friends?"

Teemo's head continued to hang and he mumbled something under his breath.

"What? I can't hear you. Speak up," Swain said as he put his cane under Teemo's chin in order to lift his head.

Ezreal could see Teemo's scratched face and anger surged through his body and he felt himself beginning to stand. Lux realized this and forced Ezreal back to the ground.

"If we want to rescue Teemo we can't make any rash decisions," Lux said.

Ezreal nodded and turned his attention back to Swain.

"I don't know," Teemo replied with pain in his voice. "And even if I did I wouldn't tell you."

Swain smirked and let out an evil, manic laugh, "Very brave to protect your so called friends who have appeared to abandon you."

Teemo again muttered something under his breath.

Swain bent down and said, "What was that?"

"They will stop you," Teemo said as he spit in Swain's face forcing the general back.

Swain wiped the spit from his face and now had a scowl beaming down at Teemo.

"Let's see how brave you really are," Swain said as he dropped his cane.

Ezreal and Lux watched in shocked disgust as Swain hunched over and began to jerk violently. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. Swain's hands began to hook as if forming talons while gigantic wings sprouted from his back that was covered completely in dark feathers. His head thrashed as it formed a massive beak and feathers filled out his legs.

Swain lifted his beak towards the air and let out a monstrous, unnatural shriek.

He then lowered himself down to Teemo who was shaking in utter fear. "Tell me!" Swain said with a growled voice.

The werewolf was now beside himself snarling and barking at the grotesque bird that now stood in front of him. The green liquid was churning through the tank on its back and liquid was draining from its mouth. It looked poised to attack Swain at any moment.

"Move and I will end you, dog," Swain growled looking towards the werewolf.

"That would not be wise," Ezreal heard a voice say from behind Swain.

The crowd of soldiers parted to make way for the man who the voice belonged to. Immediately, Ezreal recognized the man.

"That's the guy I saw before I came to Demacia," Ezreal said to Lux. "That's Singed."

Lux gave Ezreal a confused look and he continued, "I'll never forget his soulless eyes and the bandages that basically cover him from head to toe. Where's the tank though?"

"The tank?" Lux asked.

"Yeah last time he had a tank on his back," Ezreal replied. "I think he's the one behind the weapon."

Lux gasped as they turned their attention back to Teemo.

"Warwick is my protector and no harm will come to him," Singed continued. "Even from you, Swain."

As if a dog had just seen his master, Warwick galloped towards Singed and placed himself between him and Swain.

Swain, who had now transformed back into a human, reached down to pick up his cane and said, "Do not test me, Singed. I am still in command of this army and I will not…"

"In command of the army, yes," Singed said calmly, "But let me remind you who is currently bolstering this flailing fleet."

Singed walked past Warwick, who was still growling, and came face to face with Swain, "It is my work, my weapon that will give this pathetic excuse for an army a chance against Demacia."

Singed paused before continuing, "And don't you forget it."

Ezreal couldn't see Swain's face, but he could feel the hatred from where he was. Swain merely stood for what seemed like an eternity before reacting.

"Move out! All of you!" Swain yelled at the now scrambling Noxus soldiers who were crowded around.

"Place this yordle in a jail cell," Singed commanded a couple of nearby soldiers. "I will deal with him later."

"That's it," Ezreal whispered. "We've got to find the jail. Let's go."

As Ezreal tried to stand, he quickly realized he was frozen in place. He looked to Lux who returned the same panicked stare.

"I can't move!" Ezreal said to Lux.

"Neither can I," Lux replied.

"I prefer it that way," a voice said from behind them.

They turned and fear flooded through their bodies at what they saw. Karthas was standing behind them holding his staff in their direction. He was obviously the source of the spell that was freezing them in place.

"Karthas!" Ezreal exclaimed.

"Somehow we keep running into each other," Karthas said sarcastically. "Fancy that."

"Now walk!" Karthas yelled as he shifted his staff forcing Ezreal and Lux from their hiding spot.

Just before the soldiers took Teemo away, Singed commanded them to stop, "What do we have here?"

"What is the meaning of this Karthas? And who is that?" Singed asked motioning to Ezreal and Lux.

"I knew your friends weren't far behind," Swain interrupted. "They are with the yordle."

"Ah, so these are the three that duped the two of you back in the Ironspike Mountains," Singed replied.

Swain's face twisted to resentment and Karthas sneered.

"Lock them up with the yordle as well," Singed commanded the soldiers. "But obviously I don't have to tell you to lock them up in separate cells. And take away their weapons; we don't want an escape."

"They have proven to be shifty," Singed said as he shot a look at both Swain and Karthas who were both fuming mad.

The soldiers took the trio away and before leaving Singed looked back towards Karthas and Swain and said, "Thank you, Karthas. I believe you two have work to attend to?"

Swain and Karthas watched Singed leave before shooting each other a look and dispersing to their own business.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Ezreal made sure to memorize the path that the soldiers were taking them through the Noxus stronghold. He knew they would end up in a jail cell, but he didn't know for how long. He wanted to be certain that when they escape no time was wasted trying to figure the way out.

Ezreal was worried about Teemo. They had carted him off ahead of Ezreal and he couldn't see him. Ezreal knew Lux was okay as she was being escorted directly in front of him. With each turn the path was becoming more and more difficult to memorize. Ezreal hoped that soon they would reach their destination.

Before long, Ezreal's wish was granted. The soldiers brought the trio into a room with four jail cells that sat next to each other and lined the back wall. Ezreal watched as they removed Teemo's backpack and placed it into a metal locker in the corner of the room. They then placed him in the farthest jail cell against the wall.

Next, they removed Lux's wand and shoved her into the cell next to Teemo. Lastly, they approached Ezreal and he was forced to remove his gauntlet and hand it over. The soldiers crammed him into the cell next to Lux and he watched as they placed her wand and his gauntlet in the same locker. The soldiers locked each cell and then left the room through the only door.

Ezreal looked around the room. There was a single, barred window next to Teemo's cell and each cell had a single bed attached to the wall. The cell had three stone walls and one single barred wall at the front which consisted of the door. Other than the cells, there wasn't much more to the room in which they found themselves in. A single door rested on the opposite wall from the cells along with a desk. Sitting next to the desk was a tall locker in which their weapons had been placed and securely locked.

Ezreal sighed and then yelled, "Teemo? Teemo, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Teemo replied. "I knew both of you would come back for me."

"There was never any doubt of that, was there?" Ezreal replied.

Teemo smiled in his cell, thankful for his friends. "Are you okay, Lux?" Teemo asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," Lux said rubbing her wrists. "Those soldiers need a lesson on how to treat a woman."

Ezreal starred at the bars of his cell. He grasped them with both of his hands and shook with all his might. He pushed and pulled, but it was no use. The bars were well made and all he accomplished was making noise.

As he stood back in disappointment, Ezreal heard an unfamiliar laugh accompanied by a voice, "You're gonna need more than that."

Ezreal was confused by the voice, but then realized he had forgotten about the fourth cell that sat on the other side of his.

"Hello?" Ezreal replied to the voice. "Were you talking to me?"

"Of course I was," the voice said again. "Who else would I be talkin to?"

Ezreal didn't say anything, but merely waited for the man to speak again.

"Hello?" the man said. "You got any more bright ideas to get out of here?"

"Who are you? And no, I don't. Our weapons are locked up over in that locker," Ezreal replied frustration apparent in his voice.

"Ha! As if I didn't know that already. I wondered why my shotgun wasn't just sitting right here next to me," the man said sarcastically.

Ezreal didn't reply. A long silence came over the room until the man spoke again, "Graves."

"What?" Ezreal said confused.

"My name," the man replied. "It's Malcolm Graves."

"Nice to meet you, Graves! I'm Teemo," Teemo said happily from the end cell. "The woman is Lux and you've already met Ezreal."

Graves laughed and said, "Well aren't you just a little ball of fur and sunshine. Those guards sure did a number on you…um what was your name again?"

"Teemo," Teemo replied. "And yeah that werewolf did this to me."

"Yeah you gotta watch out for ole Warwick. He's the reason I'm in here," Graves replied. "Stupid blood hound is all he is really."

"He's the reason you're in here?" Ezreal said skeptically.

"Well, yeah you see I was hanging around town and needed a little coin," Graves explained. "I figured I would relieve the local bar of some of theirs, but I was caught. As I was leaving that fine establishment, that dumb mutt hunted me down and basically dragged me in here. Been here ever since."

Graves thought for a second, "Goin on about a week now."

"But who cares why I'm here. One thing we both have in common is that we are stuck in here, so how are we going to get out?" Graves asked.

"How can we even trust you?" Ezreal said quickly.

"What do you mean?" Graves responded with a hint of anger.

"You're a _criminal_. Not exactly the most trustworthy," Ezreal said.

"Hey, hey, hey I may be a criminal, but I'm good for my word. If I tell I will do something, I'm gonna do it and I will help you get out of here if I can," Graves replied.

"I don't know…," Ezreal said.

"I bet it got pretty confusing trying to remember all the turns getting here, huh?" Graves said cutting Ezreal off.

"I think I memorized it pretty…" Ezreal said obviously offended by the remarks.

"See that's hesitation. That right there is what gets you lost," Graves replied. "I've been in this jail a couple of times, so I know my way out."

"How did you get out the other times?" Ezreal asked.

"They eventually let me out after about a month of sitting in here," Graves replied.

"Oh," Ezreal said in disappointment. "I still don't think we can…"

"I think we can trust him, Ezreal. Besides, he looks trustworthy enough," Teemo said who was now firmly standing in front of Ezreal's cell and looking at Graves.

"HaHa! You see, the fur ball likes me!" Graves exclaimed.

"Teemo! How did you get out of your cell?!" Ezreal asked in utter amazement as he couldn't believe Teemo was happily standing on the other side of the barred door.

"My mushrooms," Teemo replied as if the answer was obvious. "I hid some in my shoe as backup for tight situations. The acid is corrosive enough to melt away the lock."

"Teemo, you never cease to amaze me!" Ezreal said as he hugged Teemo through the bars.

"Get us out of here!"

Ezreal watched as Teemo pulled more mushrooms from his shoes and broke them over the locks allowing the acid to eat away at the metal. Within minutes, Ezreal, Lux, and Graves were all standing outside of their cells.

"Now that's what I'm talkin about," Graves said. "You're one smart yordle."

Teemo stood up tall and puffed out his chest obviously proud of what he had accomplished.

"So, what now?" Ezreal asked.

"Well, we don't have long until the guards come and check on us," Graves replied. "First we need to get our stuff out of that locker." 

"Do you have another mushroom?" Graves asked Teemo.

"Yes sir!" Teemo said as he ran and melted the lock off of the locker and swung the doors open.

Each one took turns gathering their things. Teemo grabbed his backpack and secured it firmly on his back, Lux twirled her wand in between her fingers, and Ezreal fastened his gauntlet back where it belonged. The trio turned to Graves who was now holding a bulky, double barrel shotgun at his side. He didn't notice the stares at first as he was busy strapping different canisters to his waist.

"What?" he said finally noticing the stares.

"That's one big gun," Teemo replied.

"Oh, yeah," Graves said happily as he patted the barrel. "This baby right here has gotten me out of a lot of sticky situations."

"Alright so what's the plan? We can't just go through the entire place, guns blazing," Ezreal said.

Graves gave Ezreal a look and then said, "Well the first thing we have to accomplish is getting through the next room. Shortly, four guards are going to come in and chat for a minute before coming in to check on us. We've got to take them out without alerting anyone else and then go from there."

"Sounds manageable," Lux replied.

"There is a giant map of Noxus on the wall in that room," Graves continued. "We can plot our escape from there."

"Great," Ezreal said. "Now how do we take them out?"

Graves, who was already loading a canister into his shotgun, said, "This shell right here will cause more than enough of a distraction. When you get the que, go in and knock them out…but quietly."

"How will we know what the que is?" Ezreal asked.

"Oh, you'll know," Graves said as they heard the door in the other room squeak open.

Graves put a single finger up to his lips and placed his ear against the door.

"On three crack the door," Graves whispered to Ezreal.

Graves positioned himself flat against the wall and with his fingers counted, one…two…three!

"Lights out," Graves whispered to himself.

Ezreal cracked the door and graves launched the shell into the room. Ezreal watched as the metal canister bounced across the stone floor before coming to a stop near the center of the room. It began to spin wildly and Graves slammed the door shut. Ezreal, Lux, and Teemo watched as smoke appeared under the door and they could hear each guard coughing wildly.

"Go!" Graves said suddenly bursting through the door.

With the butt of his gun he caught the first guard in the side of the head, knocking him out cold before he even hit the ground. On the other side of the room, Lux flung a bolt of light from her wand freezing two of the soldiers in place while Teemo appeared behind them and struck them with darts instantly causing them to faint. The last was up to Ezreal and he instantly teleported behind the befuddled soldier and put him in a head lock. Ezreal held on tight until the soldier passed out.

"Good work!" Graves exclaimed as he surveyed their handy work. "We make a good team."

"What do we do with them?" Lux asked pointing to the soldiers. "They will eventually wake up."

"We can't put them in the cells. The locks are melted," Ezreal said.

"Just drag them into the room and lock the main door," Graves replied. "Teemo and I will look for the key while you two drag them in there."

Ezreal and Lux begrudgingly began to drag the soldiers back into the cell room while Teemo and Graves tore apart the room. Graves was searching through a desk that sat near the door while Teemo was going through a nearby file cabinet.

As Lux and Ezreal were on their last soldier, they heard Graves yell, "Oh…my…gosh!"

"What? What's wrong?" Ezreal said panicked as he ran back in the room.

"I don't believe what my eyes are seeing," Graves said as he sat a small rectangular box onto the desk.

The trio stared in confusion at Graves as they watched him open the small box and take from it a brown tube looking object. With the largest grin Ezreal had seen from him yet, Graves took the tube and stuck it in his mouth. He lit a match and with a few puffs smoke began to pour out of his mouth.

As if reunited with a long lost friend, a wave of relaxation fell over graves and he said, "I haven't been allowed to have one of these in a loooooong time."

"What is it?" Ezreal said as he coughed and waved the combinations of smoke from his face.

"Abihoc's. The best cigars in all of Runeterra," Graves replied still happily puffing on the cigar.

Ezreal stared and quick tinge of anger came over him, "You made us freak out over a cigar?"

"Whoa, now. This isn't just any cigar. This is the first one I've had…" Graves replied.

"In a very long time…I know," Ezreal said cutting Graves off. "Did you at least find the key?"

Graves gave Ezreal an angry stare over his cigar as he tossed over the key.

"Gonna save these for later," Graves said as he tucked the box with the remaining cigars snuggly into his waist.

After Ezreal had locked the door he asked, "Where did you find those anyway?"

"The box said Knight Rito. Obviously this was his desk that they were locked in," Graves answered.

"Well thank you Knight Rito for donating to the Graves cigar fund," Graves said happily as if talking to someone who wasn't there.

"Well good I'm glad you got a cigar," Ezreal said sarcastically. "Now what's the plan?"

After a moment they heard Lux who was standing over by a large map on the wall say, "It looks like we need to go to the labs. I have a feeling that's where the weapon will be."

"I think you're spot on pretty lady," Graves replied. "They aren't far from here and we can probably get there largely undetected."

"Great, let's go then. Lead the way, Graves," Ezreal replied.

Graves nodded as he eased open the door and looked down the hallway.

"All clear. Come on."

The trio followed Graves down many different twisting corridors. Every once in a while he would give them commands to stop or crouch making sure that they weren't spotted. After a while and a few too many turns Ezreal began to grow suspicious that they were lost.

"Do you even know where we are going?" Ezreal said in a loud whisper.

Graves didn't answer, but rather motioned to the group to continue following him.

After a few minutes, Ezreal said again, "You're lost aren't you. I knew it."

Graves stopped at the next corner and placed his body against the wall. He motioned for the others to do the same then motioned for Ezreal to join him at the front.

"There's your door to the labs," Graves said firmly.

Ezreal didn't look at Graves, but merely said, "Okay, but how do we get past the two guards? They are too far away for us to surprise them."

"Leave that to me," Lux said from behind. "I can blind them with my light and then you two can rush them."

Lux crept to the front and poked her wand around the corner. In a flash a ball of light shot towards the guards and exploded before they had a chance to react. The guards fell to their knees and clutched their eyes in obvious pain.

The group charged the soldiers and dispatched of them quickly and quietly before anyone was of the wiser. They piled them both in a nearby closet in order to avoid detection.

"So this is the lab," Ezreal said. "Well then let's go stop Singed."

"Not so fast. This is where I get off this party bus," Graves said as he had his hand on a nearby door handle.

"What?" Lux said in disbelief.

"I thought you were coming with us, Graves?" Teemo said sadly.

"Not today. I needed to get to this door. This is my way out," Graves replied.

"I knew it," Ezreal said angrily. "You were just in this for yourself. You don't care what happens to us."

"I kept my word," Graves quickly replied. "I said I would get you out of the cell and to your destination and that's exactly what I did. Now excuse me if I have a different place that I need to be."

"Fine, go ahead. We don't need you," Ezreal said dismissively.

Graves laughed under his breath, shook his head, and in an instant was gone behind the side door. Ezreal turned his attention back to Lux and Teemo who looked worried and sad.

"We don't need him," Ezreal said trying to sound reassuring. "We can stop Singed on our own."

Lux and Teemo gave a muted nod before they turned their attention to the double, metal doors in front of them. Ezreal took a deep breath and pushed open the doors to the lab.

As the trio walked into the lab, they were on high alert that at any moment they could be attacked. After they had gotten a short distance into the room, it appeared to be abandoned. The room was rather large holding rows of metal tables all of which had glass beakers, whirling machines, and microscopes resting on their tops. The trio inspected the room in awe noticing all sorts of tubes and machinery that hung from the ceiling. Massive glass cylinders that were fastened to the back wall held a variety of liquids all in different colors. In the center of the room was a raised platform that housed what appeared to be the central machine that controlled the rest of the room. A variety of color coded tubes connected into its top and it was obvious to Ezreal that this was the machine that mixed the weapon.

"Over here," Ezreal said as he motioned to Lux and Teemo.

The trio examined the glowing monitor which displayed the mixing process for Noxus' new weapon.

"Amazing," Lux finally said after a few moments. "This tells us exactly what the weapon is made out of. We have to get this information back to Demacia. With this they may be able to come up with an anti-agent to fight it."

"It's so sad that you won't get that chance, Lux," a voice said from the other side of the room.

In unison the trio turned to see Singed standing between them and the doorway from which they came. They readied themselves for a fight, but before they could act Warwick fell from the ceiling behind them grasping Lux against his chest.

"Lux!" Ezreal said as he listened to her screams.

Ezreal raised his gauntlet, but before he could act he heard Singed say, "Not so fast. One move and I will have Warwick crush her bones."

Ezreal lowered his arm and stood still. Teemo did the same.

"Good. Good," Singed said as he approached them. "Now kneel."

Ezreal hesitated as he looked at Teemo.

"I said kneel!" Singed yelled as Warwick tightened his grip forcing a squeal from Lux.

Ezreal and Teemo dropped to their knees and Singed tied a rope around both of their arms. Singed motioned for Warwick to release Lux and Singed tied her up in the same fashion.

"What are you going to do to us?" Ezreal replied.

"I'm glad you asked," Singed replied. "When I left you alive back at the Great Barrier Mountains I was simply looking for a witness to spread the word of my weapon. You were to tell Demacia of its destructive capabilities and you did not disappoint."

"However," he continued now standing in front of Lux, "I would have never dreamed that you would have brought me the jewel of Demacia straight to my doorstep."

Lux squirmed, but couldn't get free. Singed continued, "Imagine the face on Garen and Jarvan when I bring a zombified Lux to their front door."

"Talk about breaking the spirit of the enemy!" Singed said as he grasped Lux's cheeks with his hand and gave her face a quick shake. Lux quickly drew her head back and spit at the feet of the imposing Singed.

"And, as the cherry on top you brought me a yordle," Singed said now moving on to Teemo.

"I've never tested my weapon on a yordle, so this will open up a whole new line of research. A wonderful new guinea pig!"

All Teemo could do was hang his head. Ezreal's heart was beating faster than it ever had before. How could he be so stupid? He let his anger and determination get the best of him and now he has subjected his friends to certain doom. He would give anything in this moment to allow them to go free.

"Take me," Ezreal said. "Just please don't hurt them."

Singed laughed and said, "Oh no my dear boy. I can't return a gift as sweet as this. We are just going to have to see what the gas will do to you three."

Singed walked behind them to the central machine with the monitor and began pushing buttons. Ezreal looked over to his friends with regret and sadness in his eyes. He wanted to say something to them, but he knew nothing would make this better. He simply hung his head and whispered, "I am so sorry."

The group heard the machine start up and could hear the liquids being drained from their respective containers. They were mixing within the machine and it wouldn't be long before they were doused in the toxic gas. Ezreal took one last look at his friends and then shut his eyes.

Just before the machine had finished mixing the chemicals, a large fireball came hurdling across the room and landed within the back of the machine amongst the tubes and turbines. The machine sputtered and spewed before exploding and bursting into flames.

"Like fish in a barrel," a voice came back from the double doors.

Singed spun with anger and yelled, "You! You destroyed my machine you…you idiot!"

"I've been called far worse," Graves said blowing the smoke away from his shotgun.

"Graves!" the trio explained almost in unison.

"Warwick, get him!" Singed yelled as he commanded the hound straight at Graves.

Warwick tore towards Graves with lightning speed.

"I like moving targets," Graves said as he loaded another shell into his shotgun.

Graves took aim and fired a shell towards Warwick lodging itself within his mouth. The impact knocked Warwick on his back and as his jaws clamped down the smoke grenade exploded completely covering the beast.

Ezreal watched as Singed panicked and fled out of a side door in the lab.

"Graves, he's getting away!" Ezreal yelled.

Graves ran over to the trio and immediately cut their bonds. As he helped them to their feet he could see Warwick recovering from the grenade. A blood red hue shinned from his mouth and eyes through the remaining smoke as the liquid from Warwick's back was pumping in full force.

The group readied themselves to fight when Graves said to Ezreal, "Go. You have to catch Singed. We will deal with the puppy dog."

Ezreal nodded and said, "Thank you, Graves."

"Go!" Graves replied and Ezreal ran through the lab after Singed being careful to dodge the debris.

As Ezreal ran, he heard Graves yell, "Let's tango you oversized blood hound!"

Ezreal darted towards the now wide open back door that Singed had left in his wake. The door led to a long, unfamiliar corridor which ended in a fork. Once at the fork, Ezreal had to make a decision. On his left was another corridor which eventually ran into a set of stairs that led downwards and out of sight. On his right, however, Ezreal could see sunlight as if it were coming from yet another open door. He immediately knew his direction as his gut told him that had to be another door in which Singed had left open.

Ezreal ran with all his might towards the sunlight. As he got closer, he realized that his suspicion was correct. He was greeted by an open door that was getting closer and closer to him as he ran down the corridor. Just as he was about to exit through the open door, a bandaged arm came flying across the opening catching Ezreal in the chest and sending him careening to the ground.

Ezreal quickly found himself lying flat on his back with an intense pain in his chest. Before he could figure out what was happening, a large foot planted itself in his neck pinning him against the ground. It was all Ezreal could do to force his hands under the foot just enough that his airway wasn't being completely cut off. He was trapped.

"I should have killed you when I had the chance," Ezreal heard a voice coming from a man who was now standing above him. As Ezreal's eyes adjusted to the sunlight, he saw a menacing Singed staring down at him.

"All I wanted was for you to be a witness to what my weapon could do. You were supposed to merely alert Demacia and send them into a panic," Singed continued. "But instead you became a rather large thorn in my side."

"It was my fault I suppose," Singed said as he put more pressure down on his foot. "I underestimated you as I didn't perceive you as a threat. Oh how wrong I was."

Ezreal could tell Singed was furious and that he was on a mission to make Ezreal suffer. Ezreal gasped for air and tried to push Singed off of him, but it was all in vain. Singed weighed more than him and he had the upper hand.

"My greatest work now in flames. You and your friends will pay for this, I promise," Singed said as he continued to get angrier by the minute.

"You…won't…win," Ezreal managed to say in between gasps.

"Brave until the last second. I like it," Singed replied as he pulled a small vial from his pocket and unscrewed the top. "Thankfully, I have one vile of my weapon and it so happens to be just enough to transform one…last…person."

Ezreal squirmed and pushed with all his might, trying his best to avoid the toxic concoction. He listened to Singed laugh manically, pleased by Ezreal's struggle with the vile still in his hand just waiting to inflict its foe. Singed wanted him to be in as much pain as possible and Ezreal knew he planned to drag the process out.

Just as Ezreal was about to give up hope, he noticed the gauntlet on his arm. As if an idea had just been dropped out of the sky and into his head, Ezreal knew that if he could position it correctly he may be able to launch Singed off of him. Ezreal noticed that Singed wasn't paying attention to him, rather he was in the middle of another rant coupled with more insane laughs. This was his chance. Ezreal slowly removed the gauntleted hand out from under Singed's foot, positioned it upwards, and took aim.

Singed looked down just as the two mystical bows appeared on each side of the gauntlet. His eyes grew wide, but before he could release the contents of the vial, a large, crescent shaped energy wave appeared from the gauntlet striking him point blank in the stomach. The blast performed better than Ezreal had even hoped. It carried Singed across the courtyard before sending him crashing into nearby boxes of supplies. Ezreal quickly got to his feet and rushed over to the now destroyed crates.

As Ezreal approached the wreckage, he saw Singed who was now pouring blood from a massive gash that stretched across his torso.

Singed, whose laugh had grown even more manic, said, "You are impressive, aren't you?"

"It's over Singed," Ezreal said in a serious tone.

Ezreal was again greeted with more laughter, "You haven't stopped me, boy."

"What are you talking about?" Ezreal said perplexed by what he had just heard. "We've destroyed your weapon and now you lay dying on the ground."

"That may be true, but take a look around," Singed said motioning to the nearby walls and the surrounding courtyard. "How is it that you can let off an attack like that and no one comes to my aid?"

Until now Ezreal hadn't thought about how unusually abandoned Noxus seemed. He looked around trying to find signs of anyone else, but there was no one to be found. Ezreal stared back at Singed without saying a word.

"Let me help you with the answer," Singed said through gurgled words. "It's because I managed to make enough of my weapon to cover Demacia before you destroyed the machine."

"What?!" Ezreal said not wanting to believe what he was hearing.

"That's right. Fresh batches of my chemical weapon are on its way straight to Demacia and it is being escorted personally by the Noxian military," Singed replied. "You may have stopped me, but my weapon lives on."

Ezreal's eyes grew wide and his heart began to race. He was panicking. While he was in Noxus, Singed had pulled a fast one on him and sent the entire Noxus army out to attack Demacia. He had to warn Demacia, but how? There was no way to get back in time and without proper warning Demacia wouldn't know what was coming.

Ezreal had to make it back to Lux, Teemo, and Graves. Maybe they would have an idea on how to get back to Demacia in time. As he turned to run back to the lab, he could hear Singed using his dying breathes to laugh at Ezreal in his panicked state. Just before he reached the door, he saw his friends appear into the courtyard.

"Ezreal, are you okay?" Lux said as she, Teemo, and Graves ran into the courtyard.

"We've got to get back to Demacia!" Ezreal exclaimed.

"Get back to Demacia? Why? Ezreal we saw the blast from the lab and…" Lux replied with a concerned look on her face.

"Look don't worry about me," Ezreal said rather harshly. "Noxus' army is headed to Demacia as we speak with that chemical weapon. We've got to warn them!"

"Oh no!" Lux cried.

"I thought this place seemed rather empty," Graves said looking around the courtyard. "So, what's the plan?"

"You're coming with us?" a surprised Ezreal asked. "I thought you had somewhere else…"

"My place is right here," Graves said cutting Ezreal off as he lit up another cigar.

Ezreal nodded and looked down at Teemo who had his chest puffed out and was standing at attention. He then looked over to Lux who was holding her wand above her head.

"Lux, what are you doing?" Ezreal asked.

"Getting us back to Demacia," Lux said as three screaming red bolts shot from the end of her wand, one after the other, and high into the air.

"Well, if there are any Noxus soldiers still around they know where to find us now," Graves said sarcastically.

"Let them come. They won't stay for long," Lux said moments before a booming roar rattled the sky.

Ezreal, Graves, and Teemo immediately put their heads on a nervous swivel at the frightening sound. Ezreal scanned the skies looking for the source of the sound expecting to be attacked at any moment. As he looked towards Lux he noticed she was unusually calm.

Within minutes, red scales, pointy teeth, and broad wings dropped from the clouds and filled the nearby sky. Ezreal couldn't believe his eyes. Currently soaring above his head was the biggest dragon he had ever seen in his life and it simply appeared out of nowhere. He was frozen, but to his left Graves had raised his shotgun.

"Holy smokes!" Graves yelled at the sight of the dragon. "Get down, Lux!"

"No! Put your gun down! Do not shoot!" Lux immediately yelled at Graves as she waved her hands frantically.

After circling a few more times overhead, the dragon landed peacefully behind Lux. Its body was so massive that it had to fold in its wings in order to fit into the courtyard where the group was located. Ezreal, Graves, and Teemo watched in disbelief as the massive dragon quickly lowered its head and allowed a few strokes from Lux. As they watched, Ezreal and Teemo were still frozen with fear while Graves still had his shotgun at the ready.

"You…you have a dragon?" Ezreal said after his momentarily paralysis had begun to subside.

"This is Skarn," Lux said as she patted the behemoth on its head once more. "He's been with me since I was a little girl."

Skarn moved its head to scan each of the other three, its beady eyes constantly blinking. Sniffing could be heard as it was obviously summing up these unknown people it was confronted with. Neither three of the men moved a muscle.

"And for heaven's sake, put your gun down!" Lux barked at Graves.

"Sorry, mam, but that's just one big lizard," Graves said as he reluctantly lowered his gun.

"Well this _lizard_ will get us back to Demacia in a heartbeat," Lux said not breaking eye contact with Graves.

"You want us to ride…that?" Ezreal asked.

"Unless you have a better idea," Lux said matter-of-factly with her hands on her hips. Skarn's head was now rapidly moving between the group, obviously keeping up with the tone of the conversation.

"Why didn't you tell us before that you had a dragon at your disposal?" Ezreal asked ignoring Lux's statement.

"Well," Lux said as she climbed on the back of her scaly friend. "I'm only supposed to use him in emergency situations, but I figured this qualified. Now come on!"

Ezreal and Graves stood still as they watched Teemo gleefully hop over to Skarn who lowered his head and allowed the yordle to climb up.

"Looks harmless enough," Graves said as he shrugged his shoulders and walked over to Skarn. Lux held out her hand and helped pull Graves onto the dragon's back.

"Let's go, Ezreal," Lux said.

Skarn was looking at Ezreal, waiting for him to make his way up. Ezreal took a deep breath and approached the dragon. As he got close, Skarn turned his head, placed it against Ezreal's back, and gave a hard sniff. As if approving of his new friend, Skarn turned his head back forward awaiting new orders.

"See, he likes you," Lux said as she helped Ezreal onto Skarn's back.

"Good," Ezreal said trying to hide the fact that his heart was racing in his chest.

After a few minutes of making sure everyone was set, Lux pulled on Skarn's reins and yelled, "Let's soar, Skarn!"

As if shot from a cannon, Skarn released his massive wings and lifted off into the sky. Everyone other than Lux gripped Skarn tightly trying not to fall to their deaths. As Skarn continued to climb through the sky, Ezreal realized he could see for miles. He could see the snow on the tops of the Ironspike Mountains, the green fields as they zoomed past below, and Noxus as it quickly disappeared into the distance. There was no doubt that Skarn would get them back to Demacia in a hurry, but Ezreal couldn't help but wonder if it would be enough. Could they beat Noxus' army? Would they arrive in time to warn Demacia? But most of all what were they going to do once they go there?

All of these questions swirled in Ezreal's brain to the point of making him dizzy. He couldn't try to figure all this out now and told himself to take it one step at a time. For now they had to get to Demacia before the Noxian's did.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

After being in the air for quite some time, Ezreal was finally letting himself relax. The breeze against his face felt wonderful and the view was breathtaking. Through this journey, he had seen so many new and exciting places, but this was the cherry on top. Never in a million years would he have ever imagined traveling across Runeterra on the back of a massive dragon.

A dragon? Ezreal thought to himself as if he had come to a sudden realization. He was on the back of the biggest dragon he had ever seen and it took commands from none other than Lux. How was that possible?

"So this dragon is your….pet?" Ezreal said to Lux who was sitting directly in front of him with the reins firmly in her hands.

"Well…kinda…but not really," Lux said slightly turning her head back to Ezreal. "He is more of my protector than anything."

"How did you end up getting him then?" Ezreal asked.

"I'm not exactly sure," Lux replied. "I have known Skarn my entire life. When I was a little girl, Skarn was just a baby himself. We have always been around one another."

"The only thing that I was told by my father was that the egg came from a thief," Lux said.

"A thief?" Ezreal said repeating her words.

"Yes, apparently right after I was born there was a notorious man with a gambling problem who lived in Demacia," Lux explained. "Well every now and then he would wind up being arrested trying to steal items from various stores in order to satisfy his gambling debt. Each time that he was arrested, the guards would confiscate the goods he had stolen and would return them to their rightful owners."

"Well one day they couldn't find an owner for one of his items," Lux said now turning a little more towards Ezreal. "At first, the guards thought it was a fake egg, merely made out of some precious stone for decoration. After not being able to find the appropriate owner, my father decided to keep it and place it in his trophy room."

"The egg sat for days without incident, but one day when my father entered his room the egg was not on its pedestal. As my father searched, he noticed pieces of the egg strewn across the room and it wasn't long before he came across Skarn who was fluttering along the walls trying to find an exit."

Lux gave Skarn a pat and continued, "Shocked by the realization of an actual baby dragon crawling around his room, my father immediately began to devise a use for his newfound property. After much deliberation he decided to keep the dragon and train it as the family's personal guard. In my father's mind no one would dare cross him if there was a dragon at his side and so Skarn instantly became a sort of guard dog if you will."

"Skarn took to liking me the most though," Lux said happily. "We are pals, but as I said earlier I'm only allowed to use him in dire situations."

"I see," Ezreal replied. "I'm just glad he's on our side."

"Me too. I don't know what I would do without him," Lux said with a smile while she gave Skarn another firm pat on his side.

"Yeah he can certainly scare off pesky guys that won't leave you alone," Ezreal said lightheartedly.

"Oh, unfortunately I do that well enough on my own," Lux quickly said back. "Guys are always too intimidated to approach me anyway….or that is what I've been told. It would be nice if one would though."

There was a long pause before a confused Ezreal said, "I thought you and Garen were…."

"Look at that!" Graves said pointing towards the ground and interrupting Ezreal before he could finish.

The group looked where Graves had mentioned and was greeted by a horrible sight.

"Look at the size of it. They must have brought their entire army," said Ezreal obviously in shock.

As the group looked on, they saw waves and waves of Noxus soldiers marching in formation towards Demacia. Soldiers, large and small, were covered in pitch black armor and carried weaponry ranging from swords to massive battle axes. Periodically throughout the formation there was one unfortunate soldier who was burdened with carrying a large flag that rose above the crowd which brandished Noxus' crest.

"Looks like they brought out the big guns too," Graves said motioning to the back of the formation.

Four massive catapults rolled along bringing up the rear of the formation. Attached to the back of each catapult was a cage that housed many different barrels each of which gave off an eerie glow. Adding to the glow were giant rock sentinels who were tasked with pushing the catapults towards their destination. The beings were made completely out of stone and were seemingly held together by the very magic that allowed them to give off the blue hued light.

"Those barrels are filled with Singed's weapon," Ezreal said immediately after noticing the catapults. "We have to destroy them before they can do any damage."

"I can't bring Skarn down there now," Lux said quickly. "We will be overrun even with him helping us."

"I know," Ezreal replied. "We have to hurry back to Demacia and fight with them."

"Looks like it will be one heck of a fight," Graves said chiming in to the conversation. "Look who they've got leading them."

Ezreal, Lux, and Teemo noticed different figures standing on the front of each catapult. Looking closer they noticed the faces of none other than Swain, Draven, and some other man Ezreal didn't recognize who was holding an imposing guillotine style axe.

Ezreal shook his head at the sight of Swain and Draven, but then asked, "Who is the man with the axe?"

"Darius," said both Lux and Graves in perfect unison. Their tone was shaky as if fear completely surrounded the name.

"He is Draven's older brother. But don't put much into their relation to one another. Darius isn't flashy and careless like Draven. He is the most ruthless fighter in all of Noxus," Lux said.

"Maybe in all of Runeterra," Graves added. "You don't want to be at the other end of his blade. He won't let up and mercy isn't in his vocabulary."

"I see," Ezreal said now utterly terrified of this new man. Ezreal watched as the man stood stoically on the catapult looking straight ahead in the direction of Demacia. He never moved an inch.

"I don't see Karthas though," Lux said sounding surprised.

"Oh, he's there," Ezreal quickly responded with malice in his voice. "Those sentinels are his creation. I just know it."

As the words left Ezreal's lips, Lux pulled on Skarn's reins and he lifted higher above the clouds and out of sight of Noxus' army. She then tapped Skarn with her feet signaling him to travel faster towards Demacia.

"We have to hurry," Lux said pure determination in her voice.

Before long, Ezreal could see the stone towers of Demacia peeking above the horizon and for once he wasn't sure if he felt relieved or terrified. Before he had time to figure it out, Skarn was hovering above the city and working on his descent. With surprising grace, Skarn came to a stop in one of Demacia's courtyards and lowered his wings to allow the group to slide down. Teemo and Graves slid down first followed by Ezreal. Coming behind them was Lux, but not before she patted her friend on the head and thanked him for his service.

Before the group even had time to regroup, Ezreal could see a rather bulky man riding a horse in their direction. Ezreal quickly noticed the man was Garen.

"Lux, I am so glad you are safe!" Garen exclaimed as he leaped from his horse and stood in front of the group. "I saw Skarn and knew…"

"I'm fine Garen, thanks," Lux replied cutting him off. "But, we have bigger problems. Noxus' army is on their way here."

"I know," Garen responded. "Our scouts reported it not too long before you arrived. We are gathering our men as we speak."

"Let us help you," Lux begged.

"Absolutely not," Garen retorted as if he were an overprotective father. "Our army will take it from here. We have fought Noxus before."

"Not like this," Ezreal barked. He watched as Garen quickly turned on him with a scowl on his face.

"How so?" Garen asked.

"The weapon that you and Jarvan wanted me to locate, well they have it and they are bringing it to your doorstep," Ezreal explained. "We believe it is within barrels that they plan on launching via catapults."

"Let us help you," Lux begged once again. "We know what it is capable of. Your men don't."

Garen paused and it was obvious to Ezreal that he was in deep thought. Garen's eyes traveled from Ezreal and Lux down to Teemo and then back over to Graves who was busy lighting yet another cigar.

Garen, who was still eyeballing Teemo, said to Lux, "So this is what? Your merry band of fighters? And they are supposed to know how to beat this weapon?"

Lux looked back Ezreal, Teemo, and Graves with a smile and said, "Yes. They are my friends and some of the best fighters I know."

Garen, who was now motioning to two nearby knights, said, "Fine, you, Ezreal and the yordle can help, but I am taking him into custody."

Garen nodded to the knights and motioned towards Graves, "Malcolm Graves you are hereby under arrest for your crimes against Demacia. You have the right…"

"Whoa, now. I ain't goin nowhere," Graves said lifting his shotgun and pointing it at the approaching knights.

"Lower your weapon, now!" Garen yelled at Graves as he slowly reached back towards his sword.

"Garen!" Lux yelled taken aback by what she was hearing. "What are you…"

"This man is a criminal, Lux, and I won't have him running free around this city," Garen retorted.

Lux and Ezreal immediately stood in between Graves and the knights blocking off the line of sight between the two.

"I won't let you do this," an angry Ezreal said.

"Neither will I," Lux echoed not breaking eye contact with Garen. "Graves saved our lives. Without him we wouldn't be standing here."

Graves looked at Garen and allowed a smirk to cross his face. He lowered his shotgun and waited for the next move.

After a few moments of frustrated facial expressions and blank stares, Garen raised his hand and ordered the knights to stand down.

"Fine," Garen finally said anger obvious in his voice. "But if causes any problems it is on all of your heads."

"Don't think I won't deal with you later," Garen said now staring Graves down who still wore a smirk.

Suddenly, a loud ringing filled the streets of Demacia and the two knights darted back towards the city gates. Garen turned towards the sound worry present across his face.

"Noxus is here," he said to the group. "If you four really know how to beat this weapon then follow me. We have to get to the gates."

Ezreal, Lux, Teemo, and Graves followed Garen through the crowd of panic struck Demacian citizens who were running in every direction for some sort of cover. The ringing of the nearby bell and the screaming of citizens made it hard to hear anything else, but Ezreal didn't need to hear to know where to go. As they neared the front of Demacia, Ezreal began to witness the Demacian army in all its might. Hundreds of soldiers dressed in silver armor filled the streets as they made it to their posts outside the city walls. Though they had seen the Noxus' army from overhead, it wasn't until now when he was on the ground with the soldiers that the gravity of his situation really hit Ezreal. He was about to fight in a war with real soldiers. He began to panic; his mind raced and his heart beat harder than it ever had before.

Ezreal looked to his friends and found a surprising peace in their demeanor. Teemo had his goggles over his eyes, his backpack on tight, and his blowgun at the ready. Lux had tightened her armor and her wand was within arm's length. Graves had filled his belt with fresh canisters and was busy loading two of them into his trusty shotgun. If any of his friends were scared they didn't show it. Ezreal nodded and steeled himself. He needed focus more than ever now and worry would only hinder him. He looked to the gauntlet on his hand and realized that it had never let him down before. Not only that, but it had made him stronger than he could have ever imagined. He gave it a twist and wiggled his fingers. He was ready.

Bringing him back to reality was the voice of Garen yelling over the crowd, "We have to get to the front. Noxus is in view now."

As they proceeded through the massive front gates of the city, Ezreal could see the Noxus army approaching like a gigantic, dark tidal wave of terror. The Demacian soldiers had fallen into perfect formation making it easy to keep up with Garen as he continued to the front.

Once at the front, they were greeted by another familiar face.

"Hello, again," said Jarvan who looked rather intimidating. He was standing in armor as gold as the sun with black spikes emanating from the shoulders and arms. Atop is head rested a helmet in the same gold armor supporting a blue crystal in the center while leaving only his face to be seen. At his side was his trusty lance that had seen him through so many battles before now. Ezreal noticed that he wasn't scared or nervous at all rather he was completely at peace.

"I am glad you four have come to help," Jarvan said. "We will need all we can get."

Pride swelled inside Ezreal as he heard the words from Jarvan. All his fears and anxieties melted away while immediately being replaced with courage. They were going to defeat Noxus, he could feel it.

Just before Noxus was in range of their archers, Jarvan turned to his army and said, "We shall not fall on this day! Know that _you_ are the pride of Demacia! _You_ are her defenders! And _you_ will vanquish any foe that threatens her walls!"

The army cheered as Jarvan started again, "Fight to your dying breath men! Noxus cannot be allowed to blanket out all that is good in this world!"

The soldiers continued to cheer as Jarvan turned and said to Garen, "On my mark."

Garen removed his sword from his back and held it high above his head. Like a well-oiled machine, each Demacian soldier locked their shields and created an impenetrable wall of metal. The archers on the walls took aim and readied their bows.

Within the Noxus ranks, Jericho Swain stood unimpressed with the army the Demacian's presented. He knew that he had the upper hand to win this fight in one swift blow. The Demacian's, in his mind, would not be able to resist his new weapon.

Swain looked to Darius and Draven and said, "Charge."

Without hesitation, the wave of black armor charged towards Demacia at full force. Every Noxian soldier craving Demacian blood.

"Now," Jarvan said to Garen.

"Fire!" Garen yelled to his archers as he swung his massive broadsword towards the Noxians.

The archers released sending a hail of arrows careening through the sky towards the onslaught. As the arrows fell, many hit their mark forcing various Noxus soldiers to the ground while others fell harmlessly or bounced off the black armor.

Swain laughed over the commotion as he urged his warriors on. Once the catapults were in range he would show Demacia the full force that Noxus had to offer.

Suddenly, Jarvan lifted his lance, held it in front of his body, and yelled, "For Demacia!"

The Demacian army charged, meeting the Noxians head on. Swords slashed, metal clanged, and it wasn't long before both ranks had been broken apart as warriors on both sides fought to the death.

Ezreal quickly found himself separated from Jarvan, Garen, and the rest of his friends amongst the fighting. He watched as Demacian soldiers clashed with Noxian soldiers. All around him personal battles were being forged and within seconds decided. Luckily, he had fallen back and wasn't on the front line when the battle ensued, giving him time to soak everything in. He had never been in a full on war before and it was hitting him hard.

Ezreal didn't have long to remain in his stupor as the ranks were quickly breaking apart. A Noxian solider locked eyes with Ezreal, raised his shield, and without warning charged in his direction. Ezreal's first instinct was to run as fast as he could back towards the city, but he resisted and stood firm. That Ezreal, the one who only looked after himself, was gone now. He had something to fight for and fight he would.

Ezreal raised his gauntlet, but before he could fire a shot, the soldier closed in and swung his sword. Ezreal teleported away from the attack and to the soldier's side while delivering a swift kick into the soldier's shield. Before he could recover, Ezreal launched several energy bolts into the soldier's chest sending him flailing into the mud below. Once he realized he had bested the soldier, Ezreal lowered his gauntlet and a smile surprisingly covered his face.

He could do this. Courage swelled in his chest and adrenaline flowed through his body as he turned to see two more Noxian soldiers approaching his position. With ease he teleported around their attacks forcing them to swing at nothing, but thin air. He turned and launched several more bolts dispatching the soldiers with ease.

Looking down at his gauntlet he realized that he had to pace himself. Though the gauntlet made his attacks powerful, they still took a lot out of him. This was going to be a long fight and he had to conserve as much energy as he could. As he looked back towards the dark wave of Noxus soldiers, he realized the catapults were almost in range. He had to get to either Jarvan or Garen and warn them about the weapon and what it could do.

His head on a swivel, Ezreal began to scan the battleground looking for any signs of Jarvan or Garen, but none was to be seen. In the distance he could hear the booms from Graves' shotgun, the squeals of pain from Teemo's toxin, and the explosions of light from Lux's wand. As he continued to scan the area he finally saw what he was looking for. Tossing soldiers like they were ragdolls, Ezreal caught a glimpse of the top of Jarvan's lance and he hurried in that direction dodging attacks as he ran.

"Jarvan!" Ezreal yelled as he ran.

"Jarvan!"

It was no use. Jarvan couldn't hear Ezreal over the sounds of the fight, so Ezreal pressed on.

Dodging a swing of his Lance, Ezreal said, "Jarvan, I have to tell you something about the catapults."

"I almost took your head off, Ezreal!" Jarvan said in a scolding manner. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine, but I've got to tell you something about the catapults," Ezreal repeated.

"They aren't normal catapults," Ezreal said as he listened to the cranking of chains and large wheels in the distance.

"What do you mean?" Jarvan asked looking over Ezreal's shoulders as the catapults rolled into striking range.

"They plan to use them to launch their weapon. It's a chemical. It will turn your soldiers…"

"Look out!" Jarvan yelled as he yanked Ezreal by his shirt and dove out of the way of the oncoming blast.

Ezreal hacked and coughed before wiping the dirt off his face. As he stood, he saw that the catapults were now launching barrel's full of the chemical weapon into the center of the Demacian forces.

"Thanks for pulling me out of the way, Jarvan," Ezreal said still staring at the catapults in the distance. "We can't let that stuff touch us or we will….Jarvan?"

Ezreal turned to see Jarvan hunched over in pain, his hands were gripping his head which was firmly planted against the ground.

"Jarvan, are you…okay?" Ezreal said as he approached the warrior carefully.

Jarvan didn't respond, but looking around Ezreal noticed many of the Demacian soldiers in his vicinity had already turned into gnarling, gnashing creatures that began to lash out at anything in their path. The chemical worked as intended and Ezreal was surrounded.

The creatures closed in on Ezreal faster than he expected. With gauntlet at the ready, he sent bolts of energy careening in every direction chopping the beasts as they stood. One by one they fell, but Ezreal was losing the fight. There were too many for him to take alone and in moments he would be overtaken. As he continued to fire, one of the creatures grabbed his arm from behind and spun him like a top. He was caught off guard and the creature raised its claws to charge.

At the last second, a massive lance shot through the creature's chest stopping right before it impaled Ezreal as well. With a swift flick, the creature was thrown to the side.

"Jarvan!" Ezreal exclaimed with a mix of excitement and horror in his voice.

Ezreal now knew why he hadn't been injured by the barrel blast. Jarvan had used his body to shield Ezreal, but as a result he was covered in the vile toxin. Jarvan's skin was melting from the bone and his armor, what hadn't been blown off, was now infused to his body. He was supporting himself by his lance and Ezreal could tell he was trying his best to fight off the toxin's effects.

"You have…to tell…Garen," Jarvan managed to say through pained words.

"But Jarvan…"

"Go!" Jarvan yelled as he began to cut down the nearby creatures. He was using what little strength he had left to cut Ezreal a path.

Sorrow gripped his chest, but Ezreal didn't have time to argue. He ran behind Jarvan and through the path only stopping for a second to look over his shoulder as the valiant warrior fought to his last breath. Ezreal shut his eyes and darted away in the direction he hoped to find Garen.

Ezreal ran with all his might, dodging nearby barrel blasts and the gnashing ghouls. He had no sense of direction and was running blindly through the chaos. Just as he was giving up hope he heard a familiar voice.

"I ain't got time to bleed you worthless flesh bags."

Graves! Ezreal thought to himself. As he pushed through a few more Demacian warriors, relief flooded his mind. Graves, Lux, and Garen had found each other and they had rallied a group of Demacian soldiers to fight back the onslaught.

He ran over and heard Lux say, "Ezreal! You're safe!"

"Yes, and I am so glad to see all of you. We have to take out those catapults," Ezreal said.

"Garen, the weapon…."

"I know what it does," Garen said interrupting Ezreal. "Lux explained. Where is Jarvan?"

Ezreal paused trying to find the correct words to say. He stared straight at Garen and said, "He's dead."

Garen's eyes grew wide as he only stared back at Ezreal. Rebounding after mere seconds, Garen said, "That means I am in full command. So, let's take out those catapults."

"Look out!" Lux said pointing at the nearest catapult. It had been loaded and was pointed in their direction.

There was no time to move. They were standing directly in the path of the barrel and they would be completely covered with the weaponized toxin. The group watched as the catapult was released, slinging its neck upwards towards the sky. Without thinking, Ezreal raised his gauntlet, took aim, and released a massive crescent energy blast straight at the attacking catapult.

The energy blast connected, chopping the neck of the catapult like a twig and sending its attack careening down on itself. As the barrel exploded, it finished off what was left of the catapult and spilled over onto the Noxian soldiers. Just as was the Demacian soldier's fate, so was that of the Noxians. They began to lash out at one another and fight amongst themselves.

Swain scowled and ordered the infected soldiers to be dealt with immediately. The Noxian's were ruthless and cut down their own without hesitation.

"That's one!" Lux said with excitement. "Great thinking, Ezreal!"

Ezreal blushed, but was quickly brought back to reality as Garen said, "We still have three more to deal with and another one is loaded and ready."

"Leave that to me," Graves said from behind the group as he was loading a rather large shell into his shotgun.

Graves cocked his gun and heaved it up into position.

"Only got one of these left. You may want to back up."

Lux, Ezreal, and Garen backed away right before a giant fiery blast flew out of Graves' shotgun nearly burning everyone around. Graves was launched off his feet in the opposite direction as the fireball was sent torpedoing towards the catapult. As the shell collided, the catapult exploded and immediately burst into flames. Noxian soldiers fled trying to escape the inferno, but it was too late for some as they were already severely burnt or dismembered.

"They picked the wrong fight," Graves said lowering the now heavily smoking gun.

"Excellent!" Garen yelled before flinching at the sound of one of the other catapults launching another attack.

Spinning on their heels, the group saw Lux who was floating slightly above the ground and had fired a beam of pure burning light towards one of the remaining catapults. The power from the beam cut through the massive weapon with ease sending it crashing to the ground.

"Good job, Lux!" Garen exclaimed.

"There is still one more!" Lux yelled as she gasped trying to regain some strength.

"Can any of you do those attacks again?" Garen turned to ask the group.

Each member shook their head no and Graves said, "That was my last collateral shell and these two need to regain strength."

Garen turned and looked on worriedly at the last catapult. It continued to be loaded and soon it would continue its barrage on his men.

"Looks like that's all they could muster," Swain said with a menacing laugh. "Fire, now!"

The massive chain cranked as another barrel was loaded into position. Just before the catapult was released, hundreds of tiny explosions rang from its sides as squeals of pain followed closely behind. Noxian soldiers rushed from the catapult gripping their eyes in terrible pain. Purple acid spread over the catapult's chains and gears and began to melt them away instantly making the weapon inoperable.

The group cheered as Garen said, "That was brilliant!"

"Guess we know where Teemo has been," said Ezreal with a chuckle.

Moments later the childish laugh in which he had first heard in the Howling Marsh and had become so familiar with rang through his ears. Shortly after, Teemo appeared in front of them with blow dart in hand.

"Teemo! You are amazing!" Lux squealed at the sight of the little yordle. Teemo gave off a big smile and puffed out his chest.

"We still aren't out of the woods yet. Look," Graves said pointing towards the Noxian generals.

Swain, the target of Graves' concern, stood brimming with rage amongst his now completely destroyed catapults. Though the catapults were gone, he found solace in the fact that the weapon worked as intended. An evil smile stretched across his face as he noticed the numbers of Demacian soldiers who had been turned into ravaging monsters. They now outnumbered their old comrades and were closing in on Garen's army at an alarming rate. Soon, the Demacians would be fighting a war on all fronts.

As Swain's anger faded, another idea came to mind, "Karthas!" Swain yelled.

After a few moments the ragged mage appeared at his side, the crystal on his staff glowing a bright blue.

"You called, Swain?" Karthas asked annoyance obvious in his voice.

"Yes, I'm in need of your…assistance," Swain said maliciously. "With the catapults down I need another delivery method. Order your golems to hurl them over the walls. We should be close enough now for their range."

"Shouldn't the golems be used to fight them Demacians?" Karthas questioned.

Swain turned on Karthas, rage ever present once again.

"Do not question my strategy," Swain snapped.

"As you wish," Karthas replied. With a wave of his staff each golem left the catapult in which it had been tasked to push and began to gather the remaining barrels. Because of the golem's size it could fit a barrel in each hand.

Karthas waved his staff again and the stone giants stormed towards the walls of Demacia.

"Take them out!" Garen yelled to his archers who still dotted the walls.

The group watched as waves of arrows pelted the golems only to fall harmlessly to the ground. Once the golems had nearly reached the walls they reared back and began to chunk the barrels full of the deadly toxin over to the citizens below.

All Garen could do was stare as his city was now being completely infected. One barrel was thrown too shallow and exploded amongst the archers. Horrendous monsters immerged forcing the archers to remove their attention from the golems and onto this new, more personal threat.

"Garen! Garen!" Ezreal yelled as he shook the commander.

Once Ezreal had pulled him out of his trance he said, "We have to fall back now! We are nearly surrounded out here and we have to protect the city."

"Right," Garen replied.

"Fall back!" Garen yelled to his remaining men. "Fall back into the city! We cannot let Demacia fall!"

Swain smiled as he watched the Demacians scamper back behind their walls. Nothing was going to stop him from finally overcoming his old enemy.

"That's why I'm in charge," Swain said to Karthas who didn't acknowledge the advance.

"Press on into the city!" Swain yelled with his raspy voice. "Have no mercy!"

"And you two," Swain said to Draven and Darius who were at his side, "go have fun."

Draven smiled showing off his sparkling teeth and said, "Oh I will."

Darius' facial expression remained unchanged as he was deadlocked on his destination and merely made his way towards the gates.

Garen, Ezreal, Lux, Teemo, and Graves barely made it through the front gates of Demacia before they were slammed shut. Immediately, they could hear the beatings coming from the other side.

"That won't hold for long," Garen said.

Ezreal looked around at the once beautiful city. Toxic liquid and the fumes that it gave off covered the city and citizens were running panicked in every direction. Smoke rose from burning fires while brick and mortar covered the streets. What Ezreal could only assume was the final barrels were still being launched over the walls. As he looked, he noticed that many citizens were beginning to turn into unrecognizable monsters.

"We've got to clear the city," Ezreal finally said.

Garen merely gave an unsure look as Ezreal continued, "Some citizens have already succumbed to the gas and if we don't act we will be fighting an even bigger foe within our walls."

"Agreed," Garen finally said. "I'll remain at the gates with my men and hold it as long as I can. All of you go and protect the remaining of Demacia's citizens."

Ezreal turned to look at his friends who were all waiting for the plan, "Alright, we need to split up. Each of you pick a direction and clear any of those ghouls that you come across. Be careful though they can overwhelm you quickly."

He watched as they all darted off into different directions and disappeared into the city. Ezreal then picked his path and with a deep breath ran steadfast in that direction.

As he ran, Ezreal could hear the screams of terror and panic echo through the city. Smoke from both the gas and nearby fires made it hard to see, while bells and explosions rang in the distance, and gargled growls followed reminding Ezreal that he wasn't far from danger. Before long, Ezreal found himself in the center of Demacia. He stopped to momentarily catch his breath only to realize that he hadn't come across a single person. This part of town was eerily abandoned and Ezreal was starting to get a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Jerking him out of his own thoughts was a blood curdling scream coming from a nearby ally. Ezreal rushed down an ally in the direction of the scream. Not even half way down the narrow corridor, he saw a woman pressed against the back wall pinned in by a group of citizens who had been turned by Noxus' weapon.

"Hey, down here you freaks!" Ezreal yelled gaining the attention of the monsters.

Without hesitation, they charged at Ezreal with surprising speed. Easy shots, Ezreal thought to himself as he lifted his gauntlet. Because they were in such a narrow alley, there was no way Ezreal would miss his mark. Ezreal fired off several energy shots cutting down the monsters before they could reach him.

He smiled, proud of himself, but it was quickly dashed when another scream rang through his ears. The woman was still in trouble. He failed to get the attention of all the monsters and the last remaining one was now barely being held off by the frightened woman. Ezreal raised his gauntlet again and took aim. This time, however, he had to be more accurate as there was at least twenty yards in between him and his target and little room for error as he didn't want to hit the woman.

Ezreal took a deep breath, focused, and finally shot a bolt of energy straight down the alley. Within seconds, it connected with the ghoul and separated its head from its body. Ezreal let out a sigh of relief and ran over to console the frightened woman.

"Are you okay?" Ezreal asked the woman who only nodded through dulled whimpers. "Let's get you out of here."

Ezreal helped the woman to her feet and they made their way down the alley back towards the center of Demacia. In the distance explosions could be heard from more barrels being flung over the walls. As they neared the opening of the alley, Ezreal quickly realized they were in deep trouble. All around them the once human, but now ghoulish creatures began to surround them in impressing numbers.

They must have heard her screams, Ezreal thought to himself trying to remain calm. He had already used a significant amount of his energy and hadn't had the time to rest. On top of that, all of the guards in the city had been called to the front gates in order to prepare for the impending attack. Ezreal looked for any possible escape, but could find none. His only option of survival would be to leave the woman to her own grisly fate and never in a million years would he even consider it.

He could hear the woman whimper again and he tried to be consoling while maintaining eye contact with the monsters. He knew that if he made any sudden movement they would charge. Ezreal forced himself to stand between the mob of monsters and the woman and raised his gauntlet. If he was going to die here and now he was going to make sure that he took some of them with him.

Before the monsters had a chance to charge, Ezreal decided to strike first. He began letting off bursts of energy in every direction cutting the monsters in half before they got close. One after another fell, but the group was massive. Any second Ezreal would give out and he and the woman would be done for.

Just as he was tiring out and the mob began to close in on them even more, Ezreal caught, out of the corner of his eye, a bright shining light high above in the sky. Suddenly, as if a comet had come whizzing down from space, an object crashed in the center of the monsters crushing them or sending them off into various directions. Ezreal covered his eyes to shield himself from the rock and dust that was now settling over a newfound crater in the center of town. Once clear, Ezreal looked up to see familiar and very welcomed face.

"Galio!" Ezreal yelled with excitement. Standing in front of him was the colossal, stone gargoyle that had shown him how to unlock his powers at the very beginning of his journey.

"Did you think I was going to let you become ghoul food?" Galio said letting out a chuckle. Though he had destroyed many of the fleshy monsters, they were trying their best to bring down the disinterested Galio.

"You couldn't have come at a better time," Ezreal replied relief in his voice.

"You know what's hard about fighting?" Galio asked as he swatted the ghouls away as if they were bothersome ants. "Nothing! I'm made of stone."

Ezreal couldn't help, but to laugh. Whether he actually found it funny or if he was just relieved not to be dead he didn't know. All he was sure of now was that he and the woman were safe.

As Galio finished clearing the ghouls he turned to Ezreal and asked, "What is going on in this city? Here I was peacefully sleeping and I was woken by the most terrible explosions. I came outside only to be greeted with chaos. That's when I saw you about to meet an unpleasant fate at the hand of these….things."

"The city is under attack by Noxus," Ezreal quickly replied. "And the ghouls are their design."

"Noxus?!" Galio said with a gasp. "This close to Demacia? We must act!"

"All of the remaining Demacian forces are at the front gate," Ezreal replied.

"Then that is where we will go. Climb on," Galio said kneeling down to allow Ezreal to climb on his back.

Before climbing up, Ezreal turned to the woman and said, "You're going to be fine now. Get to the library. You will be safe in there."

The woman nodded and ran off towards the library just as Ezreal had instructed. Without warning, Galio shot off towards the sky and in the direction of the gate.

Within seconds Galio landed amongst the Demacian soldiers who were all gathered at the gate. Ezreal could tell that though large and imposing the gates could only handle so much abuse. It was only a matter of time before the Noxus army came flooding through.

"Good to see you, Galio," Garen said walking up behind the pair.

"Garen," Galio said with a nod. "I had no idea the state of the city. I am here to help as much as I can."

"We need Ezreal's friends. They were tasked, like Ezreal, to find survivors, but we need their help here. Do you think you can find them?" Garen asked.

"But of course. How many are there?" Galio asked Garen.

"Three others. Lux, Graves, and Teemo," said Garen.

Galio nodded and took to the sky disappearing as a mere gleam in the sky.

Garen turned his attention to Ezreal, "We have to take out Karthas. He is the one controlling those golems and with the remaining force we have left those things will carve through us if not taken down quickly. Can you do that?"

Garen was staring more intently at Ezreal than he had ever seen before. It was at this moment Ezreal knew Garen valued him. If Ezreal failed to defeat Karthas, the golems would live on and Demacia would fall.

Without hesitation Ezreal replied, "Consider it done."

Breaking their conversation was Galio who had reappeared behind them, his targets in tow. Ezreal stared and marveled at his rocky friend who had not only located his friends, but had managed to return them all at one time. Graves and Teemo looked worse for wear as Graves had been clinging to the gargoyles back while little Teemo held onto his ankles for dear life. Meanwhile, Lux was set down gracefully after being airlifted with ease nestled within the grasp of Galio's massive arms.

"Your friends," Galio said presenting his find.

"Wonderful. Thank you, Galio," Garen responded.

"We managed to get a few people to safety," Lux said to the group.

"Yeah and we cleared out some of those gnarling jerks too," Graves added as he regained his footing.

The front gates continued to jeer and moan as Demacian warriors tried with all their strength to keep in intact.

"Okay listen up," Garen said rallying the group. "We don't have a lot of time so here is the plan. Those golems will eat us alive if we don't take them down, so that's our first priority."

"Galio," Garen said looking at the stoic gargoyle. "Can you keep those golems busy and away from my soldiers?"

"Of course. They are merely a weaker version of me," Galio quickly responded.

"Okay. If Galio can keep them busy Lux, Graves, Teemo, and I will focus on the Noxus soldiers along with Swain, Draven, and Darius. Take your shots if the opportunity presents itself, but don't act careless," Garen explained.

"What about Ezreal?" Lux asked.

"His sole purpose is to kill Karthas," Garen said as he gave Ezreal a reassuring look and a nod. Everyone looked at Ezreal who, for the first time, was feeling a little nervous.

"Once Karthas dies those golems should fall apart. It is his magic that is keeping them alive. Once that happens Noxus will be out of tricks," Garen said as the rest of the group nodded in agreeance. "Now get ready."

As everyone was taking their places, Lux walked over to Ezreal, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and said, "Go get him!"

The nerves were gone. Ezreal steeled himself and focused on what he had to do. Failure was not an option. He wasn't fighting just for himself, but for Demacia and all of his friends.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

The gates suddenly splintered apart and two massive golems came lumbering through along with the flood of Noxus soldiers at their feet. Galio took to the sky and collided with one of the unsuspecting golems, knocking it off its feet and sending it crashing to the ground. Immediately, Galio flew circles around the other golem catching its attention. Taking his opportunity, Garen let out a battle cry and his warriors pressed headlong towards the Noxus forces. Clangs of swords, armor, and shields quickly filled the air as the soldiers fought for their lives. Just after the fighting started, Garen heard a disturbing noise coming from within the city. Attracted by the sounds of fighting, hundreds of ghouls came rampaging towards the battle.

"Looks like we are fighting two fronts," Graves said turning towards the ghouls. He quickly fired a few gas canisters into the center disorienting the ghouls momentarily.

Seeing this, Garen yelled to his archers who were scattered on the walls and throughout the city, "Help Graves pick them off. Now!"

The archers immediately turned their attention to the ghouls and launched their arrows through the smoke.

Ezreal fired shot after shot connecting with different Noxus soldiers. As he looked to his friends they were all busy doing the same. Though he couldn't see them all, he could easily hear their attacks over the commotion.

Not only could he hear his friends, but he could also hear the Noxus champions. Swain's crow was squawking in the distance, Draven's axes were ricocheting off of armor, and then there was…Karthas! There he was merely standing behind the fighting holding his staff perfectly still. His eyes and the tip of the staff glowed bright blue and matched the hue given off by the golems.

Before Ezreal could make his move, two Demacian warriors to his left were swiftly cut down by a massive battle axe. As Ezreal turned he was greeted by a heavily armored warrior who towered over the rest. He wore a scowl on his face and was on an unstoppable rampage through the wave of warriors.

"Darius," Ezreal gasped under his breath.

As if on autopilot, Ezreal shot several energy blasts towards the warrior. Darius deflected two with his axe and the other landed harmlessly against his breastplate. With mighty force, he swung at Ezreal nearly missing his head, but the force from the axe knocked him on his back. Ezreal was caught off guard by Darius' impressive speed. Before Ezreal could react, Darius had lifted his axe to deliver the killing blow.

Ezreal lifted his hands as if it would help block the attack at all. His life quickly flashed before his eyes and he was convinced this is how he was going to die. Suddenly, a bright light in the shape of a sword appeared above Darius' head and without warning came crashing down. Darius staggered backwards from the blow, but quickly regained his composure. By now Ezreal had scrambled to his feet, but Darius had swung his axe yet again. This time, however, the axe was stopped dead in its tracks.

Ezreal looked to his side to find none other than Garen who had intercepted the attack. Darius' scowl grew larger as he stood face to face with his old rival.

Garen pushed off the attack sending the axe back to its owner. Without breaking eye contact with Darius, Garen said, "Go get Karthas. I'll handle him."

Ezreal looked at Darius who was now sporting a devilish smirk. Darius wasn't after Ezreal after all. He was merely trying to get to Garen. Ezreal merely happened to be in his way in his quest to prove his dominance over his rival.

Ezreal left the pair to fight and focused on Karthas in the distance. This was his opportunity as Karthas remained unguarded and was standing alone. Ezreal focused and in an instant he teleported to where he was face to face with Karthas who had still failed to acknowledge Ezreal's presence.

"Karthas! Karthas, stop your golems or I will have to take you out!" Ezreal yelled his gauntlet at the ready.

Karthas again said nothing. He was merely standing in a trace with the same blue hue filling his eyes.

Anger swelled inside of Ezreal. Karthas wasn't threatened by him at all. The feeling was clouding his mind and without thinking he allowed two mystical bows to materialize on the edges of his gauntlet. Ezreal braced himself with his other arm and then…. _clang_.

"Ahhhh!" Ezreal let out a squeal of pain as he pulled the gauntleted hand to his chest and gripped it tightly. A sharp pain was now shooting through the arm.

"I'll take that," Draven said as he caught the spinning axe that had just collided with Ezreal's arm.

Ezreal's eyes grew wide and he began to back away as he heard, "Payback time from earlier, boy."

Draven launched a whirling axe, but Ezreal quickly teleported out of the way. Immediately, another was headed in his direction. Ezreal took aim and swiftly snipped it out of the air with an energy blast. Blood was dripping down his arm and Ezreal could feel each shot that he let out from his gauntlet. Draven sensed the weakness and continued to launch blade after blade towards Ezreal with relentless speed.

Ezreal could barely keep up. Both he and Draven knew it was only a matter of time before one of the deadly axes connected. Out of the corner of his eye Ezreal caught a glimpse of a rather bright light. Suddenly, a ball of light appeared at Draven's feet and exploded, blinding its target immediately.

Draven yelled in pain and Ezreal saw his opportunity. He launched a barrage of bolts towards Draven each connecting with its target and each doing significant damage. Draven rebounded and launched both of his axes like a frisbee that floated only inches above the ground. Ezreal hurdled the attack, but tripped. As he looked over his shoulders he saw the axes coming back. Just before they connected, they bounced off a wall of light that was now surrounding Ezreal.

Draven snarled and turned only to see Lux, her wand hovering in front of her body. Once he realized what she was doing it was too late. His eyes grew wide and he braced for impact as a solid beam of light shot from Lux's wand and hit him dead center in the chest. The wave pinned him against the castle walls leaving behind a deep cut in his chest. Draven slid to the ground and let out a gurgling sound.

"Draven out," Draven said as his eyes glassed over and he allowed his head to hang.

"Thank you, Lux," Ezreal said looking to his friend.

Before Lux could answer they both heard a loud squawk followed by the terrified scream of Teemo.

"Teemo!" Both said in unison.

Lux looked back to Ezreal and said, "Go get Karthas, I'll tend to Teemo."

Without waiting for a response, Lux hurried off back towards the battle in pursuit of her little friend. Ezreal looked to the sky only to see Galio swirling around the golems. He still had their attention, but Ezreal could tell he was beginning to struggle with them. Ezreal ripped off some cloth from his shirt and wrapped it tightly around his wound. He had to take out Karthas.

Ezreal turned to Karthas who still hadn't moved. He had to break Karthas from this trance in order to stop the golems. Ezreal lifted his gauntlet again and let out every attack that came to mind. Shot after shot he launched at Karthas, but not a single one had any effect. The attacks stopped harmlessly before hitting Karthas and it was quickly apparent to Ezreal that Karthas had a force field protecting himself.

Ezreal's brow furrowed as he only had one more idea. Ezreal braced himself and focused. Within seconds, his signature crescent moon blast launched from his gauntlet towards Karthas. Ezreal watched in sheer disappointment as the energy field cut his attack in half and sent it careening off in two different directions. Karthas hadn't budged a bit.

What was he going to do? Ezreal thought to himself. He had no idea how to break the force field. Ezreal's attention was jerked to the sky as Galio was sent crashing into a building. The golems had finally become too much and bested their opponent. They turned only to now focus on Ezreal. He panicked. In a last ditch effort, Ezreal let out a yell and charged the deranged mage.

Ezreal easily traveled through the force field and collided with Karthas who stumbled backwards. Karthas' eyes returned to normal and quickly angered as he realized who had broken his concentration. The golems stopped and then began to wander aimlessly.

"You insect!" Karthas barked before slamming his staff into Ezreal's stomach.

Ezreal doubled over only to then be lifted off the ground. Karthas had his staff pointed at Ezreal and was using his magic to control Ezreal just as he had the golems.

"You think you can beat me? Ha!" Karthas boasted as he dangled Ezreal in midair.

Karthas continued to talk, but Ezreal wasn't listening. The force field only protected Karthas against magical attacks. His attention focused on an unbroken barrel still full of the toxic weapon which was nestled within a destroyed building behind Karthas. An idea suddenly flooded Ezreal's mind.

Idea or not, Ezreal still couldn't move. Karthas had him trapped as he forced Ezreal to float harmlessly in midair. Ezreal could see a grim smile crack across Karthas' pale face before he began to laugh manically. Karthas was beside himself with glee amongst the widespread destruction and the fires that continued to burn across Demacia. Karthas waved his staff back and forth laughing uncontrollably as he watched Ezreal's body mimic the motions against its will. Ezreal was now his puppet.

Try as he might Ezreal couldn't break free of the deranged mage's spell. He had been a thorn in Karthas' side for far too long and now he was paying for it. As he swayed in every direction imaginable, his sights continued to focus on the unbroken barrel lodged within a destroyed building behind Karthas. There had to be some way that he could get to it.

Karthas lifted Ezreal higher in the air just as an explosion rang out across the area. A nearby factory had taken all the abuse it could handle and had finally collapsed in on itself. Stone and debris flew into the sky and new flames emerged within the building. The explosion caught Karthas off guard forcing him to flinch and drop Ezreal to the ground. This was his moment. Ezreal had to do something now or Karthas would surely finish him off.

Realizing he had lost control, Karthas raised his staff again, but he was too late. Just before Karthas lifted Ezreal once again, Ezreal launched a bolt which instantly connected with Karthas' shoulder. Karthas yelled in pain and jerked the staff to the side flinging Ezreal through the air and into the nearest building.

Ezreal landed amongst the debris with a hard thud. With no time to waste, he rolled over, rubbed his head, and got a quick sense of where he had been tossed. As he looked around, he saw it. The unbroken barrel was directly in front of him and Karthas was still reeling from his now damaged shoulder.

Ezreal crawled to the barrel and pushed it will all his might, but nothing happened. He kicked, punched, and pushed, but no matter what he did the barrel wouldn't budge. Ezreal panicked. He had to think of a way to move this barrel quickly before Karthas found him again. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. Maybe if he used his entire body at once and pushed with all his might the barrel would spring free.

Ezreal got down behind the barrel and in a squatting motion placed both of his feet against its side. He then situated himself to where his back was flush against what remained of a heavily damaged wall and secured his hands against the ground. Once in place, he took a deep breath and pushed as hard as he could. To Ezreal's surprise, the barrel rolled slightly up before falling back into place.

He had to hurry because Karthas had recovered from his shoulder wound and was now looking for Ezreal. Ezreal pushed again with the same results, except this time the noise alerted Karthas to his position. Karthas smiled his grim smile once again and began to walk towards Ezreal.

One more shot, Ezreal thought to himself as he positioned himself again. He pushed harder than he had before but this time with more grunts and breaths. Finally it happened. The barrel rolled out of its hiding spot, away from the debris, and headed straight for Karthas. Karthas stopped dead in his tracks after seeing the barrel and raised his staff once again. This time, however, Ezreal would be the first to strike.

Ezreal took aim with his gauntlet and let off an energy blast. The blast hit its mark and just before it collided with Karthas, the barrel exploded covering the mage in the toxic liquid. Karthas screamed as the liquid seared his skin and burned his eyes. Ezreal watched amazed that his plan had actually worked.

It wasn't long before Ezreal realized, however, that the liquid, and the gas it produced, wasn't having the same effect on Karthas as it had on everyone else. The mage twisted and turned refusing to succumb and turn into a monster. His flesh dropped from the bone and his face grew sunken. Before long, Karthas fell face first into the dust and didn't move.

Ezreal didn't know what to do. Normally whoever came into contact with that weapon turned into a mindless, ravaging monster and here Karthas appeared to have just died or at least passed out. After a few seconds, Ezreal cautiously approached Karthas.

"Karthas? Karthas, are you alive?" Ezreal said still creeping in the mage's direction.

Just before Ezreal had reached Karthas, the mage raised up until he was staring straight at Ezreal. Ezreal jumped back before noticing something different about Karthas. He no longer had legs, or skin, or….anything. Karthas was a ghost floating above where he once laid with the angriest stare Ezreal had ever seen. Everything in Ezreal's body told him to run and so he did just that.

Over his shoulder, Ezreal heard Karthas yell, "Behold your undoing!"

The air around Ezreal grew heavy and the wind began to swirl. Within seconds, the immediate area around Karthas had changed. Everything was dark and the wind had created a mini hurricane slowing Ezreal and trying to swallow him whole. Ezreal looked to the sky and noticed dark clouds had formed above Karthas who was slinging his arms like some sort of crazed choirmaster. Adding to the chaos were small explosions that began to erupt at random around Ezreal's feet. Buildings, statues, walkways, all were being torn apart as the explosions continued and eerie blue lightning rained from the sky.

Even one of Karthas' prized golems fell as it was caught in the winds and succumbed to the onslaught of damage. Ezreal looked for a way out before noticing an object whizzing through the winds like a large bullet. Before he could react, Ezreal was covered in giant stone wings which had wrapped him in a stone cocoon of protection.

"Galio!" Ezreal exclaimed. "Am I glad to see you."

Galio's stone head turned to look at Ezreal. He smiled and said, "The best defense is a good magic absorbing colossus."

Ezreal laughed and listened to the chaos that ensued outside of Galio's wings. Explosions continued to tear apart buildings and Ezreal listened as another golem, who was caught within the attack, crashed to the ground. Debris pelted Galio's wings, but they didn't falter. Just as quickly as it had appeared the winds died down and returned to normal. Galio lifted his wings and turned with Ezreal to get one last glimpse of Karthas as he disappeared like smoke in the wind.

Ezreal stood unmoving as he took in the sheer damage that Karthas had caused. The once vibrant and structure filled area was now nothing but rubble. Even the golem's bodies had been mostly pulverized leaving them almost unrecognizable. A small crater was now present at the center of the commotion exactly where Karthas had been floating.

"That was ridiculous," Ezreal finally said to his stone companion.

"Good thing I came along or you would have something in common with those golems," Galio joked.

"Yes, thank you again," Ezreal said.

Galio nodded and said, "You are very welcome, Ezreal. It is the least I could do after making my job easier."

"What do you mean?" Ezreal said confused.

Galio motioned to the few remaining golems before saying, "The blue hue is no more which means their magic is gone. They will now easily crumble under my might."

It actually worked, Ezreal thought to himself. The golems were getting their magic from Karthas and now that he was gone they had no direction or special powers and were now wandering aimlessly amongst the fighting.

"And now we finish this!" Galio exclaimed as he saluted Ezreal before taking off towards the remaining golems.

Ezreal didn't have a moment to catch a breath as he heard squawking and screeching in the distance. He darted in the direction of the noises as they got louder and more frantic. As he rounded a burning building, he realized he was back in the center of Demacia and the fight as well.

Soldiers were still swinging away at each other trying their best to gain the upper hand. Garen and Darius were still locked in a heated battle, Graves was busy blasting away at a nearby golem, and Teemo was….running. Behind Teemo was a massive, grotesque monster that stood at least eight feet tall. It had a massive beak, glowing red eyes, and razor sharp talons. Ezreal quickly realized this monster was none other than Swain.

Teemo tripped and fell to the ground only to have Swain on him in an instant. Ezreal noticed that the Noxus general had gashes on his body and multiple darts protruding from his feathers.

He hovered over Teemo before screeching, "You and your bothersome friends have ruined everything! Noxus was supposed to reign supreme and now we are nothing! I will not come out of this empty handed. A yordle trophy will look very nice on my mantle."

The beast let out a roar as Teemo yelled in fear. Ezreal raised his gantlet, but before he could act a blinding light froze the monster in place. Ezreal smiled. He would recognize that attack anywhere.

"Thought you could get away from me Swain?" Lux said now standing behind the monster. Ezreal noticed that she had several cuts on both her body and her armor. She had obviously already tangled once with the beast.

The monster let out a loud screech towards Lux who was holding her wand at the ready. The monster quickly twisted, turned, wrenched, and shrank down in a storm of feathers and dust until Swain stood in its place back in his human form, but heavily exhausted.

"You bothersome winch!" Swain spat towards the golden haired mage.

"It's over, Swain," Ezreal said now showing himself and brandishing his gauntlet towards the general.

Swain turned and acknowledged Ezreal before swiveling to see Teemo who had also regained his footing and was holding his blow gun at the ready.

"It's over Swain. You are finished," Ezreal yelled again still holding his gauntlet ready to attack.

Swain didn't say a word, but instead started laughing manically. Ezreal's brow furrowed in confusion. He was surrounded, Ezreal thought to himself, how could he laugh at a time like this? Has he simply gone mad?

"I'll never be finished, boy," Swain yelled as he continued to laugh. "The war between Demacia and Noxus is an eternal one that will never die."

Suddenly, Ezreal caught the sound of what sounded like running. It was faint, however, as Swain's laughs were almost entirely drowning it out.

"Say what you want Swain, but you are surrounded. There is no way out of this one," Lux said as she crept closer to the deranged general.

This only made Swain laugh harder. An evil tone was now apparent in his laughs and Ezreal was growing weary. Though Ezreal kept his eyes on Swain, another more alarming sound was drawing his attention elsewhere. There was that running sound again, Ezreal thought, but its more prominent now. It was coming from behind him, and from back in the city. Hundreds of feet could be heard pushing across the hard ground. It was as if someone had let all the horses out of their stable at once. This was different as Ezreal could now hear another sound. Growls.

"He is stalling!" Ezreal yelled to Lux and Teemo who looked his way.

Ezreal turned just in time to see a horde of monsters round a corner. The wretched toxin spared none as armor from both armies along with commoner's clothes hung on the bones and failing skin of the hideous creatures. Gnashing and growling, the product of Noxus' weapon was barreling in their direction intending to attack anything in their path. They had obviously been attracted by the commotion and were headed straight for them.

"About face men! Attack!" Lux yelled pointing her wand towards the oncoming wave. A ball of blinding light flew from the end and exploded at the feet of the monster's front line, crippling the unlucky few that were in its path.

The remaining Demacian soldiers raised their shields and charged their former comrades. Lux, Teemo, and Graves followed flinging searing light, blinding toxin, and exploding shells into the center of their new enemy. Ezreal stood still locking eyes with Swain who merely smirked before taking off in the other direction amongst the crowd. Not today, Swain, Ezreal thought to himself before darting after the general.

Ezreal was amazed at the old general's speed as he could barely keep Swain in eyesight. Ezreal felt as though he was trying to paddle upstream in his attempt to weave through the crowd that was pushing headlong in the other direction towards the monsters. Once out of the crowd, Ezreal's head was on a swivel catching sight of Swain at the last second.

He's heading to the front gate, Ezreal thought.

Just before reaching the now destroyed gate doors of Demacia, Ezreal stopped in his tracks. The remnants of the Noxus army were retreating behind Swain, flooding out beyond the gates as if their lives depended on it and led by none other than their champion, Darius.

Swain turned on his pursuer and said, "So hero, here we are. Outnumbered and outgunned. Maybe we should take a prize with us back to Noxus."

Swain's crow let out a screech and Ezreal began to backpedal with his gauntlet at the ready. He picked up the pace until he backed into something. It was tall and metal. Panicked Ezreal spun only to see Garen in all his might and sword in hand.

"I would like to see you try, Swain," said Garen confidence in his voice.

Swain recoiled as Darius approached his side.

Just before the two sides locked in battle, a familiar voice rang across the city.

"Ezreal, Garen we need your help!"

"Lux!" both Ezreal and Garen said in unison.

Swain smirked again as he and Darius backed away towards the gate and said, "So what's it going to be? Capture us or save your friends?"

Ezreal turned immediately and ran back towards his friends. He only stopped after realizing Garen wasn't with him.

"Garen? Garen come on they need us," Ezreal pled with the warrior.

Garen stoically stood in place with anger plastered across his face and his sword at his side.

"That's right Garen, run along," Swain taunted shooing Garen with his cane.

"This isn't over, Swain," Garen finally said. "We will never stop hunting you and all of the scum that Noxus can spit out. You will pay for your crimes against Demacia."

"I'm counting on it," replied Swain with loathing in his voice before backing away beyond the debris of the gate.

Garen stared for another second before turning to Ezreal and nodding. They both ran as fast as they could to aid their friends in their fight against the remnants of Noxus' scourge. Without hesitation, they plunged steadfast into the fray slashing and shooting at every ghoul in sight. Ezreal launched his signature crescent moon blast cutting down a handful of the monsters while Garen claimed multiple with every swing. Within the commotion, Ezreal heard the sounds of his friends doing everything they could to best the creatures.

Day turned to night before the fight was over and Demacia stood victorious. As he was regaining his breath, Ezreal looked around at the piles of the hideous creatures that now littered the ground. He sighed as he then looked even farther around the city shocked by the sheer destruction. The still burning flames could be seen even better now flickering in the starry sky as they continued to destroy some of the heaviest damaged buildings. Karthas' golems, once the harbingers of this destruction, now lay lifeless around the city. The bodies of soldiers of both armies, that weren't afflicted by the toxin, also added to the madness.

"It will take forever to rebuild," Ezreal said to himself.

"Nothing that we can't handle," a voice came from behind him.

As Ezreal turned, he saw the ever beaming face of Lux staring back at him. Somehow she managed her bright smile even after all they had gone through.

"I guess," Ezreal said still unsure.

"Perk up," Lux demanded. "We won and better than that we are all alive. That in itself is enough to celebrate. Demacia can be rebuilt."

"You're right," Ezreal said finally returning the smile that Lux was searching for.

As he straightened up, Ezreal realized he and Lux were face to face. For what seemed like a long minute, they stood staring at one another only smiling and not knowing what to say. The silence was broken by a familiar face.

"Would you two kiss already? I'm getting a headache watching you two awkwardly dance around it," Graves said as he was leaning against a nearby damaged wall and lighting another cigar.

Ezreal and Lux immediately looked away, their cheeks burning red. As their eyes met once again they smiled.

"But you and Garen are…." Ezreal managed to stammer.

"Brother and sister," Lux said quickly.

Ezreal's eyes grew wide as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. This entire time Ezreal thought Garen was competition when in reality he was the farthest from it. Happiness flooded Ezreal and without thinking he leaned in and gave Lux the kiss he had been wanting to since he met her.

"Glad that's over," an unenthusiastic Graves said as an excited Teemo cheered and clapped at his feet.

"Glad to have you in the family," Garen said clasping his armor clad hand on Ezreal's shoulder forcing him to lose his balance and nearly knocking him and Lux over in the process.

Ezreal smiled and rubbed his shoulder, "Thank you, Garen."

Garen nodded and then turned to Graves and Teemo, "I am thankful for all of you."

Teemo stuck out his little chest and gave a salute while Graves gave a slight nod as he puffed on his cigar.

"Now let's get to rebuilding Demacia."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

It had been nearly three months since the attacks on Demacia and Ezreal was happy to see it quickly returning to its former glory. The streets had long been cleaned and most of the minor damage had been repaired. Scaffolding cluttered the more damaged parts of the city and tall cranes poked above the houses. The smaller businesses had been reopened by their former owners and the city carried on as normal. Hustle and bustle was as present as it ever was and the city had life once again. One thing was for certain, the citizens of Demacia were resilient.

Ezreal was able to witness this first hand. He had decided, after all, to call Demacia his home once and for all. He had grown fond of the shining city and most of all a certain citizen that also called it home.

"Get up and get dressed," Lux said as she barged into Ezreal's room. "We don't want to be late today of all days. Oh, I can't wait to see Teemo and Graves again."

Ezreal laughed as he sat up in his bed. He didn't realize until now that he had been dreaming the day away. And Lux was right, today was not a day to be late. He hopped out of bed only to stare at an impatient Lux. She was already dressed in her newly shined and formal set of armor with her hair perfectly styled and her wand safely on her back.

"You've got fifteen minutes. Let's go!" Lux said before leaving the room.

Ezreal shuffled over to the bathroom before gazing at himself in the mirror. His hair was a mess and his eyes were a little puffy. He had been out late every night this week helping with the clean-up efforts around the city. Today though he and his friends were the guests of honor in a city wide parade while at the end being honored for their bravery on the battlefield.

As Ezreal splashed water on his face he couldn't help but think about how far he had come in his journey. Never in a million years would he have thought of ending up in Demacia. He was an explorer who got by on selling trinkets that he found. Now, well he was kind of the same, but he had a home in Demacia and for that he was happy.

Ezreal ran his hands through his hair, put on his normal clothes, and fastened his goggles to his head. Lux was worried about looking her best, but all Ezreal wanted to do was see his friends. Though he, Lux, Garen, and Galio all remained in Demacia, Ezreal hadn't seen Graves and Teemo since the attack on Demacia. Teemo, the brave yordle scout, had returned to Bandle City only to receive a hero's welcome and the highest honors from both the Scouts of the Mothership and the Megling Commandos. Graves, after being sprung from his prison cell, returned to pursuing his ever backstabbing comrade Twisted Fate everywhere from Piltover to Bilgewater.

Ezreal was only able to keep up with them through newspaper clippings or the occasional letter in the mail, however he was excited as both of them were supposed to show up today. Ezreal made his way down the hall away from his apartment and towards the front of the building. He assumed that's where Lux was now impatiently waiting. He made his way down the stairs and out the front door before arriving on the city street. Immediately, he was greeted by Lux.

"It's about time," Lux said barely able to contain her excitement. "Let's go."

Lux grabbed Ezreal's arm and was dragging him down the sidewalk.

"Are you excited? You should be. There is nothing in Runeterra like a Demacian parade!" Lux said gleefully not allowing Ezreal to get a word in and pulling him faster down the sidewalk.

As Lux pulled, Ezreal merely followed and listened to her excitement of the day. He noticed how nice of a day it was. The sky was a bright blue and the wind was blowing ever so slightly. Birds could be heard chirping in the distance and the city was peaceful…well most of it anyway.

As they rounded a corner, the sounds of the parade hit Ezreal like a bucket of ice water. Tons of people gathered along a blocked off route all wearing colorful clothes and jewelry. Umbrellas, necklaces, noisemakers, and balloons all dotted throughout the excited crowd as they awaited the celebration. Men selling food, drink, and souvenirs walked up and down the route yelling over the crowd trying to sell their wares. Ezreal was in awe. He had never seen anything like it in his life.

"This way!" Lux exclaimed as she was waving Ezreal in another direction.

Ezreal hurried over to her position and followed her down a couple of alleys.

"Where are we going? The parade is back there," Ezreal said struggling to keep up.

"We have to get on our float, silly," Lux said as they exited an alley that led them behind a large building and the start of the parade route. Sitting in front of Ezreal was a massive wooden float decorated to look like the battle that had occurred just three months ago. It showed Demacia reigning victorious over Noxus and was covered in vibrant colors and armor. Even pieces of Karthas' slain giants adorned the sides. Six armored horses waited at the front for the command to pull away.

Ezreal stared admiring the float in all its beauty, "We get to ride on that?"

"That we do."

"Yes sir!"

Ezreal heard two familiar voices say from behind him.

"Graves! Teemo!" Ezreal exclaimed as he rushed over to his friends.

Teemo gleefully gave Ezreal a hug while Graves stood perfectly still and said, "Whoa hold on there. I don't do hugs."

Graves held out his hand and gave Ezreal a bone shattering handshake, "Good to see ya, Ezreal."

"You too, Graves," Ezreal said as he rubbed his hand.

"All of you can talk on the float. Come on up, the parade is about to start," Lux said who was now standing above the trio and on top of the float.

Graves and Teemo climbed up with Ezreal bringing up the rear. Once on top of the float, Ezreal realized they were on by far the tallest of them all. Stretched out in front of their float were at least twenty more slightly smaller ones all decorated with different colors, objects, and magnificently dressed people. Each float seemed to have a different theme and Ezreal was enjoying himself trying to figure out each one.

"And there he is, the man of the hour," Ezreal heard a voice come from behind him. Ezreal turned to see Garen dressed in the most impressive set of armor he had ever seen. His signature blade was hanging firmly on his back. "Glad you could make it, Ezreal."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Ezreal replied with a smile.

A horn sounded in the distant prompting Garen to say, "Alright everyone take your places on the platform. Everyone is going to want to see the Heroes of Demacia."

Ezreal, Lux, Graves, and Teemo all took their place in the center of the float. Garen then yelled at the horses who all began to pull in the same direction following the float that was directly in front of them. Ezreal was the happiest he had been in a while. He allowed the cool breeze to blow his hair as he looked out over the city.

As he was admiring the surroundings, the statute on the front of the float began to move. After a few seconds it straightened up and turned towards Ezreal only to reveal a familiar face.

"Galio!" Ezreal yelled as the stone gargoyle walked over. "You get to be on the float too?"

"Well I am a hero," Galio said jokingly as he struck a pose.

Ezreal laughed and said, "That you are. You saved my life from Karthas' attack."

"I just did what any friend would do," Galio said placing his rocky hand on Ezreal's shoulder. "And besides you are the one that defeated Karthas. I just provided a shield."

Both Galio and Ezreal laughed before Garen turned their attention back to the parade, "We are nearing the actual parade route. Take your places."

Ezreal could hear the men and women that were leading the parade with their many different horns, drums, and other musical instruments. Even louder than the music was the parade crowd gathered on each side of the road cheering and clapping as hard as they could. Ezreal just stared in amazement as the crowd grew even louder once their float approached. Confetti and streamers filled the air covering their float in a multitude of colors.

"Try waving. They love it," Lux said as she leaned in close to Ezreal who had up to this point just been standing in a trance.

Ezreal looked at the people below him and waved. He could see their smiling faces back at him and he could just feel how appreciative they were. Ezreal had never felt so loved in his life. He had always been a loner and an explorer, but now he had friends and for the first time…a family.

Ezreal couldn't help but soak up every last minute of the day. He waved for so long that he thought his hand was going to fall right off his wrist. Once one hand would get tired he would wave the other one to near exhaustion. The parade route was long and winding as the Demacians had obviously made sure that it passed through every part of the city that wasn't under major construction. As they neared the town center, Ezreal noticed how most of the floats broke off into different directions and disappeared. His however was heading straight for City Hall.

"Which way are we going, Garen?" Ezreal asked.

"To City Hall," Garen replied.

Ezreal's brow furrowed and he only replied with a confused look.

"I have a surprise for all of you."

As the float approached City Hall, the horses came to a halt right at the foot of the stairs. Once the float had completely stopped, Garen hopped down from his position and began to make his way off the float.

"All of you follow me," Garen said motioning to everyone on the float.

Confused, the group looked around at one another but decided not to question Garen. They merely followed Garen down the ladder on the side of the float and made their way up the many steps. As the climbed the steps of City Hall, Ezreal noticed a large, temporary platform had been set up with a podium to one side. Ezreal looked behind him and noticed also that the crowd from the parade route had all gathered at the foot of the steps.

"What's going on?" Ezreal said in a hushed whisper as he nudged Lux.

"I have no idea," Lux replied.

Ezreal looked back at the rest of his friends to see their reactions. Teemo, of course, was skipping along without a worry in the world. Like always he was just happy to be there. Graves on the other hand looked a little nervous. He kept looking around as if at any moment someone was going to swoop in and take him away.

Once they had reached the top of the stairs, Ezreal noticed four small "X's" drawn on the floor one after the other. Under each X was a name. Teemo, Graves, Lux, and Ezreal were all laid out under each X.

"Stand on the X that has your name under it and wait," Garen quickly said to them before taking his place behind the podium.

Ezreal found his X and took his place. He looked up only to notice that the float had now moved and he could see just how large of a crowd had gathered. Every piece of ground up to the steps of City Hall was covered with the citizens of Demacia. Except this time they weren't cheering rather just waiting for Garen to speak. Ezreal began to grow nervous and he could feel sweat beading on his forehead.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of Demacia," Garen started as he took his place behind the podium. "We have proven time and time again that this city is resilient, strong, and stands for everything good in Runeterra."

The crowd gave a round of applause and a quick cheer before allowing Garen to continue, "You all know of the tragic and malicious attack that this city suffered at the hands of Noxus just three months ago. In this unfortunate battle Demacia reigned victorious, but sadly lost many lives both soldiers and citizens. We can never repay them for their ultimate sacrifice, but we can honor them for centuries to come."

Garen turned and stepped down from the podium only to walk next to a large object covered by a white sheet. Garen grabbed the sheet and gave it a tug showing the crowd the monument that was underneath. Ezreal couldn't help but mouth the word _whoa_ at the sight of the beautiful statue that now sat behind him.

The statue had four people standing back to back with a central figure in the center that was slightly taller than the rest. The ones on each side represented a person for each direction; one staring east, one west, one south, and the final one, which was staring in their direction, was looking north. The northern figure was one of a soldier standing in full armor behind a shield with his sword at his side. The southern figure was a direct mirror of the northern soldier while the figures on either side made up a woman civilian in a dress and a male civilian in everyday clothes.

Ezreal looked up at the center figure and examined it closely. He knew that person and it very quickly became apparent who it was. Facing north was a figure in impressive armor adorned with spikes along the shoulders. A crown rested upon his head and at his side was his signature lance gleaming in the sunlight. He was at peace and right where he wanted to be…among his people.

All of the figures were resting on a square, granite pedestal that was engraved with the names of every person that fell to Noxus. A separate plaque was affixed above the rest of the names and it read "Jarvan IV the Exemplar of Demacia." The monument stood tall at the entrance to City Hall and the sun of the day gleamed beautifully off its face. Ezreal turned to see the crowd who remained solemn with respect.

Garen approached the podium and spoke again, "Let us never forget those who gave their lives for this city. Because of their sacrifice, we may live. May their souls watch over us and protect us. With this monument we can honor their lives and pay thanks to them and their families."

The crowd cheered and clapped once Garen had finished speaking. After a few seconds, Garen lifted his hand to silence them once again.

"But let us not forget the ones that are still with us. I am happy to present to you your champions of Demacia!"

Garen motioned to Ezreal and his friends and the crowd went wild. Everywhere Ezreal looked he saw jumping and screaming people all happy to see Ezreal, Lux, Teemo, and Graves. Ezreal didn't know what to do other than smile and wave. He still didn't really know why he was up on stage. They had just rode a float through the streets of Demacia in order to see everyone so there had to be some other reason for them to be standing up here.

"Now without further ado," Garen continued, "we would like to give to the four of you the highest honor that Demacia has to grant. The Medal of Bravery."

Ezreal watched as a Demacian knight in full armor walked over to Garen carrying a small wooden case. Garen took the case from the knight who bowed and returned to his post at the side of the stage. Garen opened the box and revealed to everyone four shining gold medals in the form of the Demacian crest.

"This medal is reserved for only the bravest men and women who have served this fair city," Garen continued. "We would be honored to present them to you. Because without you this city would not be where it is today. I speak for everyone and saying thank you from the bottom of our hearts."

Garen then walked by each one of Ezreal's friends as he placed a medal around their neck and said _thank you for everything_. As Garen got to Ezreal he paused, looked Ezreal in the eyes, and nodded as if giving a different level of respect. Once he had awarded each person with a medal he returned once again to his podium.

"You now make up a small group of men and women who have been granted this honor. You are now and will forever be a Demacian."

The crowd exploded in cheers. It was louder than Ezreal had ever heard before and all he could do was smile and wave. He and his friends looked towards each other and Ezreal could tell they were as elated as he.

Again, Garen raised his hands to calm the crowds. After it had grown silent Garen spoke once more.

"This is not all that we have for you," Ezreal perked up after hearing the words from Garen.

"First, I must address a certain yordle scout that had no obligation to myself or even our city, but in the face of danger never wavered from his duties."

Hearing this the happy-go-lucky Teemo quickly straightened up, puffed out his chest, and stood at attention.

"Teemo for your bravery on the battlefield and your cunning skills, the city of Demacia offers you a lifetime supply of the toxins to make your signature darts," Garen said with a smile. "Our merchants will supply you for free anytime you should be in the area and are in need of supplies to continue your missions for Bandle City."

The crowd cheered as Teemo's eyes lit up like an excited child. He was beside himself with glee and happily saluted the Demacian champion.

"And next we have Malcolm Graves," Garen said looking to the outlaw who was still a little on edge. Graves locked eyes with Garen waiting to hear what he had to say.

"Though your record of criminal activity is a lengthy one, the city of Demacia grants you full clemency for your crimes. Because of your selfless actions on the battlefield for a people that was not your own, your slate has been wiped clean. As of this day you are no longer a wanted man in the eyes of Demacia and all its territories."

Graves' face went from one of worry to pure relaxation. He gave off a light laugh under his breath and brandished a smile as he nodded to Garen and waved to the citizens of Demacia who returned a roaring wave of cheers.

"To my sister, Luxanna. You have served Demacia since you were born and continue to this day. This city is a better place because of your services and so on behalf of the Demacian College of Magic we grant to you the honorable title of High Magi."

The largest smile Ezreal had ever seen plastered itself across Lux's face before it was quickly covered with both of her hands. Lux could hardly contain her happiness and tears slowly flowed down her face. She was overwhelmed with emotions, but managed to wave to an adoring and cheering crowd.

"And last, but certainly not least, we have the prodigal explorer, Ezreal," Garen said smiling in Ezreal's direction who was waiting nervously.

"I must say that when we first met I didn't know what to think of you," Garen continued. "I thought you were scatterbrained and lost and only cared for yourself. It was Jarvan who convinced me that you were something special. _Trust in him_ , Jarvan would say and every single day I am thankful that I listened."

Jarvan?! Ezreal immediately thought to himself, Jarvan was the one who always believed in him? This whole time Ezreal thought Garen was the one who convinced Jarvan to take him seriously and trust him, but in reality it was the other way around. Jarvan trusted him, knew his heart, and saved his life. A slight twinge of sadness flowed over Ezreal at the realization that he would never be able to thank his friend for everything, but it was quickly replaced with happiness knowing that he didn't let Jarvan down.

"You have grown to be Demacia's strongest ally and most valued friend," Garen continued before looking over at Ezreal. "My friend as well. You have taught me that not all people should be judged by their cover and that even scatterbrained explorers can be true heroes."

Ezreal laughed as Garen gave him a nod before continuing, "Because of this and because of your efforts to defend this city we want to present you with this."

Within seconds, another knight appeared at Ezreal's side holding yet another wooden box. The knight opened the box only to reveal a sparkling, new gauntlet sitting comfortably on a bed of satin. In the center laid the very disk that he dug out of the Ironspike Mountains and that became the source of his power.

After a slight hesitation, Ezreal picked up the gauntlet and slid it onto his left arm. As he held it out in front of him to examine it, he noticed that it was slightly loose and immediately looked over to Garen.

"Place your finger on the panel underneath," Garen said noticing Ezreal's confusion.

Rolling over his forearm, Ezreal noticed a small, flat panel that was in the shape of a fingerprint. He placed his finger on the panel and watched in awe as the gauntlet adjusted to his arm. Gears turned and rods fired all to tighten the beautiful metal gauntlet perfectly around his arm. Ezreal stared as he watched it work as one unit as if it were pure clockwork.

Ezreal moved his fingers within the gauntlet and twisted it over and over again to look at its intricate design. It fit perfectly and he had never seen anything like it in his life.

"It only responds to you," Garen said again still standing at the podium. "It was custom designed by none other than the revered Cecil B. Heimerdinger of Bandle City. I think you will find it as an upgrade to your old one."

Ezreal was speechless as all he could do was stare at his new gauntlet. He twisted it over and over again wiggling his fingers with excitement. He looked to the crowd and smiled only to have them roar again with excitement.

"Thank you," Ezreal finally managed to say.

"You are very welcome, Ezreal," Garen said proudly.

"We hope that these gifts will show the level of pure gratitude that we have. You are all welcome in Demacia anytime," Garen said before turning to the crowd. "I give you now, your Champions of Demacia!"

The crowd cheered, yelled, and clapped once again so loud that it could be heard for miles around. Ezreal, Lux, Teemo, and Graves all looked at one another before taking a bow and waving at the crowd. They then followed Garen as they made their way into City Hall.

"So what do we do now?" Ezreal finally said once it was only the five of them away from the crowd.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I've got business to attend to in Bilgewater," Graves replied. "Me and an _old friend_ of mine need to have a chat."

"And I already have missions to report for in Bandle City," Teemo said.

"Well it was so good to see both of you," Ezreal said as he shook Graves' hand and gave Teemo a hug. "Please stay in touch."

"We will," Teemo quickly replied.

"Enjoy living in Demacia now," Graves said as he and Teemo turned to leave.

"Stay out of trouble, Graves," Garen yelled after them. "Remember, your slate is only clean as of _today_ not any future crimes. I don't want to see you on our list again."

Graves' lifted a hand in the air and waved without turning as him and Teemo continued to walk out of City Hall. Immediately upon exiting the room, he lit up a cigar, gave it a puff, and was gone.

"Well I guess you are going to stay here with me now, huh?" Lux asked to Ezreal as she gave him a smile.

Garen, who now had a strange look on his face, quickly said, "Um, I'm going to leave you two alone. Thank you again for everything. Today was a great day."

"Bye, Garen and thank you," Ezreal said as the Demacian champion left through another door.

"I think I'm going to like it here," Ezreal said as he and Lux walked out into the courtyard. "Being able to explore, but also to have a place to call home will be nice."

"Agreed. And we will be together," Lux replied.

As they walked through the courtyard, they quickly got the feeling that they weren't alone any longer. Ezreal quickly turned only to notice a tall, imposing man who had a sense of purpose about him. He wore a dark gray breastplate and matching leg guards with a flowing cape that hung down his back. Two impressive pistols hung on his hips.

Ezreal moved to confront the man, but the man started before he could speak.

"I don't mean to alarm you," the man said holding out one of his hands, "You are Ezreal, correct?"

Ezreal nodded, curious as to whom this new man was. Neither he nor Lux had heard him come in and just minutes ago they were completely alone.

"My name is Lucian and I need your help. The Black Mist, its coming."

THE END


End file.
